“I will go to him one day, but he cannot
return to me.”
— 2 Samuel 12:23b (NLT)
Being
real about where we are at –
10 days hence from our baby boy’s funeral – 17 days hence from his birth – we find
ourselves away from home, finding ourselves. Life is good. God is good.
How can I say such a thing? “Life is good. God is good.” I
definitely identify with King David’s words. I will go to Nathanael, one day,
when my time is right. That helps me know that what he went through in the
hours at the end of his life are irrelevant in terms of eternity. What we
suffer here is inconsequential.
Living intentionally for eternity is our quest for the knowledge
that our deaths stalk us. God has a plan for each of us to traverse the
physical realm before we enter the spiritual. My son is already in that
spiritual realm; a realm that I have no personal experience of. Even as a
pastor, with staunch personal beliefs that leave not much room for doubting, I
have to admit what every human being must admit. I do not know what it will be
like to ‘go to him’, but anticipation is everything. I am excited by the fact
that, when I’m tired and ready to ‘fall asleep’, I will make the greatest
journey ever, instantly. Yes, I believe by
faith that I will make this journey.
To think that the process of less than five months has taken
place, and that our grief has had just that span, points to the power of faith
to give us reason to grieve with hope.
The great thing about the knowledge of eternity is it overwhelms the despair in the grief with
a far more significant paradigm for living post-loss.
An extra reason beyond the best reason to live life
intentionally for eternity means there is a plethora of purpose for life. To be
honoured as much to serve those who have needs I can occasionally help with;
that is my calling and such a calling will consume me where I have space beyond
family time.
***
There is much to live for. Our best hope in the case of loved
ones lost is we may follow them into a good place.
A thought that fills me with positive delight: When the time is
right for me, I will go to Nathanael,
and, at that time, it will be a better place for both of us to be.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
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