Our lives are bountiful joy and abject sorrow. In another life, I preached funerals for the little church that I was a member of. There is no easy answer for grief. There is no simple solution. I would get so nervous before the funeral that I became sick to my stomach. I understood that those there would be looking to me for comfort and I had none to give unless God gave me the words.

We are so intertwined with our family and friends that when one of us leaves they do not know how they are going to live without us…and the person who passes does not know how they will have the emotional strength to leave what has been so joyful of a union.

It has been said that time heals all wounds…but not really. From the time that we make our first lusty cry…we are temporarily here. Now, we have a great gift of eternity in our soul…it seems…but no one has come back to report on the concreteness of our spiritual hope.

Faith is our comforter and hope is our companion. There is such boundless love that we have for those whom we have walked this journey with. Many folks attest to visiting with their loved ones after they have passed…I believe them. Someone asked what is the message of Jesus. I believe that it is encapsulated in one sentence. ‘Love one another as I have loved you…’