God sowed a seed into our souls
long ago, and He has His plan for that seed to germinate and grow. (Zechariah
8:12-13)
The seed He sowed seems, in some
people’s recollection, only a recent thing. To us, one thousand days might as
well be one thousand years. This is not a bad thing.
On an innocent enough Tuesday, July
First, morning, eternity reached down and intervened in our lives in a
remarkable way. At a worldly level, it was an unfathomable loss, but the very
unfathomable nature of the loss was what connected us irrevocably with eternity’s
realm.
Loss is like that. Whatever we can
no longer have connects us with a realm we cannot yet see. What is gone, and
unmistakably gone for ever, is only gone for a little while, such is the
paradox of eternity. And yet, what a gift we’re given in the loss in having
been connected with eternity. If this view seems bizarre to you, consider the
options. Loss is filled with enough grief, and not one iota of grief ought to
be denied, but there is more to be had, more to be experienced, if only we’re
open to the voluminousness of God. And to be open requires the vulnerability of
being strong in our weakness, which is the surrender of all strength.
We’re not suffering, and in many
ways we haven’t suffered as many people have imagined. God’s grace broke
through the curtain of darkness like rays of light, and the prayers of many
saints interceded for us and so the Spirit of God carried us by our faith. We’ve
experienced the depths of all sorts of emotion, not just the hard emotions; the
life-giving emotions, too.
Loss is a gift if we can believe in
a beautiful eternity. Having connected us with eternity, loss deepens our
experience of our existence. Life is not simply life. Life is ethereal. Life is
more. More to life is there in life.
May God truly bless you as you take
the courage to ponder your own losses in the light of eternity’s grace meeting
your gaze eternal. Then you have met God.
Steve Wickham.
Dedicated to the memory of our dear darling son, Nathanael, born
at 36 weeks and 2 days’ gestation, having been oxygenated only ever through the
blood he shared with his mother. We enjoyed him the best we could whilst he
grew in the womb. And we’re thankful for the 179 moment-hours we were graced
with post-birth. Now, we are in the window of celebrating what would have been
his second birthday.
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