farewells

You may have noticed, I've been absent.
Quiet, really.

The past two Monday mornings, on the way to work, I've received phone calls from close friends who have lost a family member to death.
It makes me nervous for this coming Monday.

More than that, though, really, it makes me consider life.
So much of what we know as pleasure and beauty may not compare to what is to come.
I don't know.
I do know, that when these losses occurred, when these "healthy" people were unexpectedly snatched from this life, without warning or foreknowledge, parts of their world, and unconsciously, parts of our world, stopped.
Life ceased.

Words cannot ease these losses.
Even the comfort of knowing these two lives were people in close and intimate connection with Jesus Christ does not ease the loss.

In fact, knowledge, reason, logic, these don't really fit with loss.
Loss like this creeps it's way into life uninvited. Yet, it is a frequent visitor.
Emotion also plays into this time. Sometimes vast amounts of it. Sometimes not even a drop, yet it lingers below the surface. Regardless, we are left to process and grieve. We are faced with memories, joys, sometimes even regret.
And ultimately, we are left to the Creator and Giver of life.
Why, how, when, where? These question linger.

But, we do know Who. We know God knows. We know God cares. We know God hears.
It doesn't minimize the loss.
But it provides a space. The presence of the Lord is real.
And God draws near to the brokenhearted.

As a community, we also face thoughts and articulation about death.
In my current class on social justice, we've been identifying how much is "not right" with the world. It is a broken place. Countless, unknown people to you and I die without even a second glance because of disease, evil, neglect, abuse, etc.

And so, I find additional comfort knowing that these friends who passed from this life were known. They loved and were loved. They knew and were known.

So many other things remain a mystery. But God is still love.
Today, that may be all I know.