| Our Grand Reunion © Betty Sue Eaton |
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| A Christian Grief Ministry |
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| Have you ever been to a family gathering after a year’s absence and arrived to a tense atmosphere where there was a hint of animosity, where things were tolerant but not quite welcoming? Not a reunion that one would rush to, to say the least, but rather it would be to discharge of a duty imposed by kinship ties. On the other hand, you received an invitation to a gathering of generations of relatives with great anticipation of the warmth and love that would be showered upon you when you came. Clearly, this one is the most preferable of the two, and these occasions don’t come around nearly often enough. I have experienced both of these events at times in my life, and I can say without doubt that the second scenario is the one I would rearrange my busy schedule to attend no matter what it took. The joy of the occasion would not be missed for anything! All our lives we prepare for the eventuality of our death by accepting Jesus as our personal Savior. We study His word in the Bible and pray that He will be merciful to us while we wait to meet Him with the Father in heaven. With repeated assurances we wait patiently through our ordinary lives for that arrival and eagerly anticipate the blessings of being at home finally with our Lord and Creator. Think of the joy we will experience when the Father embraces us with a big hug and shouts to our heavenly family, “Look who’s here! Come welcome them home! Bring them a chair so we can sit and catch up on the good times we shared times in our earthly home while we waited for them to get here! Everyone gather around, and let’s celebrate the homecoming of our child." The beloved members of our family and friendship circle who have gone on before us are no doubt experiencing that same joy to be in the presence of such a loving heavenly family presided over by our Father in heaven, His Son, Jesus Christ, and all the angels. No one has witnessed that great homecoming and come back to tell is how incredible it was! But when we get there, we can look around and call out the names of those who have gone on before us. What a grand reunion in such a grand place! We grieve those absent loved ones sorely and wish to have them back among us here because we miss them so painfully. We long each minute to be able to embrace them and show them how much we loved them, depended upon them, enjoyed sharing even the smallest things with them. They have left a gaping hole in our lives which cannot be filled by anyone else in all of creation. But what about The Creator, Himself? He is able to fulfill every need we ever, in all eternity, will have. He is our Father! What a wonderful unexplainable joy it will be when we cast our eyes on Him upon our arrival at our heavenly home! Our lost loved ones are experiencing that joy even as we share this message. As we grieve their passing from our lives, we should celebrate that they have, for the last time, arrived back home – for keeps! We should temper our grieving with the knowledge that their wait is over. There will be no more pain or suffering for them for they are in the care of their heavenly Father who heals all hurts and sorrows, all infirmities and sickness, and provides for all our needs for endless time to come. Imagine, the ones we love are going to be celebrating the Master, In His Presence, for eternity. As the song, Amazing Grace, says, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun; we’ve no less days to sing His praise, than when we first begun!” Those beautiful words are true and prophetic: When we finally arrive at our homecoming reunion with the Lord, the celebration for us begins and never ends! That’s where our loved ones are right now! God promised, and He never breaks a promise! Let your hearts rely on that promise for comfort and peace. - Betty |
Life After Loss |
Life After Loss |
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