Eternity’s Grace Meets the Gaze Eternal

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.