Loss

I have been thinking a lot about loss and what that entails in my world. Loss sometimes means that I have misplaced an item that is needed at that moment. This is happening more often than I want to admit, but that is the benefit of a long life. I can be holding the item and still be looking for it.... My wife thinks this is hilarious until she does the same.

Sometimes loss goes deeper than a misplaced pair of glasses or car keys. Sometimes loss makes us angry; like when we lose a job to another person; or when we lose a game to an undeserving foe. We can get really upset when a loss is perceived as unfair or the victor is perceived as undeserving. Those losses require time and careful consideration of the real facts in order to offer forgiveness. And sometimes, we never get there. Those are the ones that cause ulcers and bitterness. As Elsa sung, let it go !!!!

And there are those losses that can't be reconciled. The losses that are never going to make sense because they're too real. They're too painful. They're too "forever". Those are the losses that result in saying goodbye to a dear friend or family member. They mean attending funerals and graveside services. They mean missing a person that has been taken too early (in our opinion) from life on Earth.

These losses are the losses I have been refecting on this week as we all lost one of the gentlest souls ever created. She was a person of humor, self-deprecation, and love. She was the wife of the first Pastor who helped me understand what it means to be like Jesus. She came into his life at a time of loss for both of them. It was a wonderful union that made the lives of all that knew them brighter and fuller. She was Granny, Chicken Lady, and Barabara. She was sunshine even in her own personal pain. She showed us how to live a gracious life. She left this life too soon....

But as I reflect on this recent loss, I have to believe that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that we'll be fine without her. We'll grieve. We'll mourn. We'll remember, but we'll survive this loss as we have survived others. He'll be there with us as we go forward with our own journeys. He really does know best, but it still hurts.....

Those are my thoughts. Please have a great week and BE CAREFUL !!!!