Love is a funny thing.
Love fills our days with joy, our nights with passion, and our future with hope. It lifts us to heights we never dreamed of scaling and gives us courage to take risks we could never take alone. Yet, love also causes us so much pain, especially when the one we love is gone.
In the last two weeks our family has been dealing with this less pleasant aspect of love, the pain of loss. Dad’s death has left a huge hole in each of our hearts, but the pain is especially acute for Mom, as today is their 61st anniversary. They had a love like few experience on this earth, a love that lasts forever.
1 Corinthians 13:8 promises that “Love never fails.” It is that forever aspect of love that is helping Mom and the rest of us get through this. We know even death cannot extinguish the fire of true love, because it continues to burn in our hearts and minds, in the memories of shared moments and the promise of a better tomorrow in heaven someday.
So, although our hearts are breaking, we face the future with faith Jesus is coming soon, unwavering hope in the Resurrection, and the knowledge that, though “weeping may last through the night, joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5).
A beautiful new morning is about to break, a day when God “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning our crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
Until then we will cherish the memories, hold fast to our faith, and remember always, that, no matter what comes our way, nothing, not even death, can ever “…separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)
God bless and have a Happy Sabbath!