Impact of the Loss

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” Psalm 116:15

Lee passed away today. Harry died six weeks ago. Yale died several weeks ago. She texted me that Cathy died this morning. I read in the newspaper Judy died. He called to tell a classmate passed away. And the list goes on and on. We receive notifications in many ways. People die every day. Our paths may not have crossed for years. They were just in a season of our life. We were aware of who they were and knew them by name and face. We may have had a mutual involvement through church, school, sports, an event or organization. Their death still impacts life. It may not change our day-to-day life or make life different like the loss of a close loved one. The loss still makes us reflect on their life and legacy and life in general.

For instance, I remember Lee’s impact on Jr. High youth when he taught Sunday School and was involved in work camp. I remember his honesty and truth in writing as a reporter. I remember Harry’s quiet strength and love for his wife. Yale’s smile was contagious, and his relaxed joyful attitude made others enjoy being with him. Cathy’s faithfulness to Jesus and her ministry leaves a legacy and a prayer group. So many memories even when grief is not intense.

This type of grief is different. It is one more person we have known that is no longer residing here on earth. We celebrate that they lived and we knew them. We are grateful for their legacy. We are sad for their families. So, what do we do with our grief? It does not feel right to be sad since the relationship may have been more distant or in the past. I believe we need to pause and give thanks for their life. They lived and their life had meaning and purpose. They were loved. We need to rest for a moment in our own thoughts about how our paths crossed. Give yourself time to sit in the memories and give thanks for a life lived.

These reflections have had an impact on some of my recent visits. I visited several of my ninety plus friends and realized that they will soon be residents of Heaven. There will be an empty place in my life. My heart is full, and my soul enriched because of these friendships. I have chosen to stay involved in their lives because of the history of our connections. One asked me the next time I visited to assist in planning her funeral. She is not sad about death but is at peace with the end of this life and the beginning of life in Heaven. Another friend with memory issues talked about her love for Jesus and one day God will say to her, “Hey, Sue get in here.” Being in Heaven with Jesus filled her eyes with tears of joy.

Then there is the impact of loss that we experience in tragedies in our world. For instance, the loss of life in the recent airline crashes. Immediately, we feel the pain and sorrow with the traumatic deaths of innocent people who were on their way to their destination. The deaths bring a mixture of feelings and heartache. Death should bring a pause in our lives, a time of reflection and prayer, and a gratefulness for the gift of life.

There is still an emptiness whenever death occurs. On our walk a few days ago, a small deer lay dead in the ditch. It had been hit earlier that day, and I felt an overwhelming sadness. It may have been one of the little fawns we had watched grow up and run through our woods. All of God’s creatures whether animals or humans are important to God. Any loss of life should affect us in some way, and we should not become completely numb to loss. Each life is precious to God.

There needs to be a balance in the impact of loss. Not so numb and walled off that we do not feel anything, but not extreme that everything is a gut punch. When someone you know dies no matter when you saw them last or the closeness of the relationship, recognize the loss of life and the emptiness of our world. Nobody will do exactly what they did, the way they did. That is the uniqueness of human life. Give thanks for the gift of their life and the legacy they leave and the impact they made on your own journey. When there was no personal connection, pray for their family and friends and give thanks for their gifts to this world.

Recognize the loss. Send a card. Go to the funeral. Say a prayer. Remember.

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