| Kipling's "L'Envoi" © Betty Sue Eaton |
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| A Christian Grief Ministry |
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"When earth’s last pictures are painted.
And the tubes are twisted and dried; When the oldest colors have faded, And the youngest critic has died. We shall rest and faith, we shall need it, Lie down for an eon or two, ‘til the Master of all good workmen Shall put us to work anew. " Those are the first two verses of Rudyard Kipling’s beautiful poem, L’Envoi. That title means ‘something done or said as a farewell or parting’. I translate it to myself: Rather like an epitaph on a gravestone. The poem tells of a man looking forward to being in heaven with God, the Master Painter and working for the sheer joy of the task, not for money or praise, but for the joy of working for The Master’s approval for an eternity. Two more of the verses go: "Only the Master shall praise us, And only the Master shall blame. For no one shall work for money And no one shall work for fame But each for the joy of working And each on his separate star, Shall draw the thing as he sees it For the(our) God of things as they are” In high school I studied literature and ancient mythology for credits, but I would have read them for the joy alone of the adventure I found there. Of all the courses I had to read and study, I only remember a very few and these two subjects were two of my favorites. Why, you ask? Because these stories allowed me to go wherever I wanted to and be whomever I wanted to be, to escape the every day life that was very unexciting to me. I read all of my dad’s literature textbooks from cover to cover memorizing many of the poems I found there. Because he was a school teacher in my early years, I never had a shortage of inspiring prose or poetry at hand. Now that I have grown up and had to face the world on its terms, not mine, I realize that it takes more than a myth to transport me to another place and time. It takes more than a fanciful poem to give me peace of mind and comfort when I need it. The ancient stories of myths were mostly tales of tragedy and hardship. Perhaps they made my juvenile mind feel that my own hardships were not so bad after all. Then my Grandpa Hicks died. I was ten years old at the time. My younger brother and sister and I knew little of the cause or for that matter what his dying meant to all of us. I only knew that I was very hurt when a schoolmate, jealous of the attention our young teacher gave to me, shouted, “I’m glad your grandpa is dead!” I know I cried all the way home; and when I told my mother about it, she cried, too. I guess that was the first exposure to death I had in my young life, but it surely would not be the last. Now when I must face a death in my own family, or that of a friend, or a church family member, I wish that I could be like the man in Kipling’s “L’Envoi”. But it’s unbelievably simpler than that! In the time since that event in my early life, I have met Jesus Christ and have come to know how easy it is to be transported into the Master’s presence. All I have to do is believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and bought my place in heaven for me on the cross at Golgotha. He promised that He would bear the burden of all our trouble and hurts if only we laid them at His feet. He said He would hear us cry out even if we made only simple groans of sorrow. He promised us peace that passes all human understanding if only we believed and asked. In my adult like, I, like many of you reading this piece today, have suffered many trials as you have, have lost loved ones just as you have and other troubles of just being an adult in charge of one’s own life just as you have. I have found through bitter experience that all I need to do is go to my knees and pray to God that He intercede in my behalf and take away my hurts and sorrows, and He always does. I will not tell you that I know the hour or the minute when He begins to heal my broken heart, but one day, when I think about it, I have been living a happier life than when I first asked God to help me. I realize that I have not grieved each and every minute of the day and night as I had before. I realize that I began to look forward to life, to make plans for the future, and to appreciate life for just the living! If you have lost a dear one, family member or dear friend; if you are broken hearted at the idea of living without their closeness, go to your knees and ask God to bear those heartaches for you, and He will. He promised that if you believe that Jesus was born, died and resurrected for your sins, you would be forgiven and you would sit at His right hand in heaven with God, His Father. He promised you would see your loved one again in the place Jesus went to prepare for you and me. He promised to give you peace and comfort in your distress, and I know He will. Maybe not immediately, but in His time, He will. He promised, and He will never break His promise to you and me, Never! May God bless you and bring you peace and comfort. ~ Betty |
Life After Loss |
Life After Loss |
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