Closeness In Death

“Love never ends.”   I Corinthians 13:8

As I reflect on those I have loved and are now in Heaven, I feel a part of them within me.  The love I have for them never ends as First Corinthians 13:8 tells us – “Love never ends.”  Since our loved ones are with God and God is with us, and God is love, their love is with us, too.

Before Jesus’ crucifixion, he was talking with his disciples that he must go away in order for the Holy Spirit to come.  If he does not go away, the Spirit cannot come.  This did not make sense to the disciples at this time because they did not want Jesus to leave them.  But Jesus died, was resurrected and ascended to Heaven.  Then at Pentecost, the disciples understood when they received the power of the Holy Spirit within them.  Jesus was now closer to them than he had ever been because His Spirit was living in them.

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit….”              Acts 2:4

Jesus did not want to leave the disciples alone nor does he want us to be alone.  The disciples were his family on earth.  Jesus went to be with His Father and leaves the Holy Spirit, his Spirit, as family.  Jesus did not want to leave the disciples as orphans (John 14:18) and gives his Spirit to assure them that he is with them and will never leave them.

Henri Nouwen in his book, The Greatest Gift, A Meditation of Dying and Caring goes into detail about this concept.  Nouwen says that Jesus, when he left this earth, gave his Holy Spirit to be with us.  Therefore, so too do those who have the Holy Spirit in them leave that spirit with us.  The spirit of our loved one which contains their faith and the essence of who they were on earth, remains within us and sustains us.  The Holy Spirit is often referred to as Sustainer.  Our loved ones sustain us in their love forever. 

I have begun to recognize sacred moments in my grief when I feel so very close to my husband, Dave.  It is a closeness deep within me.  I cannot explain it in words because it is a feeling deep inside that I am connected at a specific moment with him.  It gives me comfort and peace, and sustains me in that moment.  It is beyond space and time.

I feel connected to Dave in a deeper level since his death.  It is a new bond that is strengthened by the Spirit of our love.  The Spirit of God that was within Dave continues in me because love is stronger than death.

My husband, Dave, continues to influence my life even though he is in heaven. What I learned from him and his life continues to bear fruit in me.  I am aware that before I make a decision, I ask myself, “What would Dave want me to do?”

Find comfort in the assurance that “love never ends.”  The love just takes a different form within us and remains.  The love sustains us and continues to be a part of our daily lives and the foundation of our lives.  Recognize the presence of those you have loved remains in your heart and sustains you through the joys, sorrows and trials of life.