Gratitude
“The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.'' Thornton Wilder
I’ve been working with several kids that have lost a loved one. One in fact regained her father after 15 min. of death. Completely restored, he was. She tells of cleaning up his blood while he was taken to the hospital. She suffers as if he really died because now she knows someday he will. Another lost her cousin/best friend in a car accident – yesterday was the two week anniversary of her death. So much death. It mocks us as we cling to life. Adam had no idea what God was talking about. He learned of trauma and flashbacks and grief as he stumbled onto his dead son. I wonder if he cleaned up the blood. We all die, this is for certain.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
It’s God way of justice. Not, “I told you so” justice. But a heart wrenching desire to protect from the heart of a loving Father who understands everything has consequences. So much suffering. He provided the way for healing. Jesus is the solution. It is not always clean or noble or choreographed but death is not the end. It is not the end for those who have died nor is it for those who continue on but are left with a head of memories and a heart of gratitude.
I’ve been working with several kids that have lost a loved one. One in fact regained her father after 15 min. of death. Completely restored, he was. She tells of cleaning up his blood while he was taken to the hospital. She suffers as if he really died because now she knows someday he will. Another lost her cousin/best friend in a car accident – yesterday was the two week anniversary of her death. So much death. It mocks us as we cling to life. Adam had no idea what God was talking about. He learned of trauma and flashbacks and grief as he stumbled onto his dead son. I wonder if he cleaned up the blood. We all die, this is for certain.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
It’s God way of justice. Not, “I told you so” justice. But a heart wrenching desire to protect from the heart of a loving Father who understands everything has consequences. So much suffering. He provided the way for healing. Jesus is the solution. It is not always clean or noble or choreographed but death is not the end. It is not the end for those who have died nor is it for those who continue on but are left with a head of memories and a heart of gratitude.
posted by brent at 10:51 AM
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The quote is from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life."
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