Loss can never truly be empathized until you've experienced it for yourself. Prayers, sympathies, and condolences are all the ways we send our thoughts that we understand what one another is going through. But we don't know the severity of that persons loss until we feel it for ourselves; unfortunately. Time allows us to heal from loss. So we may have experienced loss over and over again, but each time we heal from what has been taken away. Only until the next time it happens again and we are reminded of what that open wound feels like. Today I was reminded of what that loss feels like. We lost a good one. My aunt, my mom's sister, has left to go on to her eternal home.
It's not until loss that we connect with one another as family and friends like never before. It's not until loss that we plead for God's grace and mercy like no other. Loss; it hurts so very much. We are surrounded by family and friends when we lose a loved one, and at the same time, we feel emptier than ever before. It's not the same kind of gathering like Christmas where family and friends are gathered and we celebrate the life of Jesus. No, we mourn as we gather together. But we need to celebrate. Life has just begun for those we lost. Eternal life that is. The life a lot of us all strive to make it to one day.
You see, we aren't promised a single minute of breathing air on this planet. Life can be taken in the blink of an eye; literally. So the air you are breathing now, thank and praise the Lord that He still believes in you for giving you another breath, another minute, another day. When we know and understand this, we understand that loss is a part of life. We are meant to feel this emotion. Of course it's never easy. And of course we fear the loss of our loved ones. We're human, and humans are allowed to feel and fear at times. But I know, especially in the presence of loss, that the good Lord is wanting our attention more than ever.
He does not take away to upset you, He takes away what He gave in the first place. We are His. And He is equally ours. He is ours to know and love. So what is it that He wants us to know about loss? The books says "Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."- Job 1:20-21.
So in the book of Job, He tells us in His word that we should equally rejoice when He takes away. Life is meant to celebrate at both birth and death. When it hurts, that's Satan's little reminder that he still exists too. He wants to remind you that your blessing has been taken away. And God allowed Satan to do this because God wanted to see if we would worship the Blessing or the Bless-er more. So pain and loss are normal to feel. And we WILL feel the pain. But now is the time to turn our attention to the Bless-er and praise Him for the Blessing; even if He did come to take back what He gave.
When Lincoln was born, I truly grasped that special love that only exists when your child comes from the womb. There's all kinds of love, but that one in particular is a super special kind of love. One day, Lincoln will be old and grown himself and life will come to an end for He too. Of course I don't like to think about that. I want to enjoy every moment in between that time. But maybe to help us better deal with loss, we can look at what God gives us when He takes away.
My Aunt was a blessing to anyone and everyone that met her. God gave us all the blessing of Bonnie Sue Joyner. For my mom in particular, He knew she'd be taking this very hard, but Mom has the every day reminder that God always gives back more than He takes, and she is reminded of that every time she sees her grandson. Lincoln is the newest generation our family has had in 15 years. There's a reason God chose him to enter the world at this specific time in all our lives. We needed him now more than ever. We needed a reminder that life is always something to celebrate; whether coming or going.
That emptiness that we feel in the moment of loss is meant to be filled. Some people will keep on going, day after day and continue to feel that emptiness, searching for ways to fill it with "fillers" that will never truly fulfill them. That emptiness is God knocking at your door. Allow Him to come in and shine His light where you are dark. He will fill you up more than anyone or anything. He is able to remind me of all the good times I had with my aunt, rather than remember the suffering she went through on her way to her eternal home. He is able to put words in my heart to help in the grieving process that my immediate family members are going through. He is a mighty God and He is never to be underestimated as to what He can fix and what He can heal.
Today, I lift up and celebrate the life of my beautiful aunt, whom was also a beautiful mother, wife, sister and friend. May your soul rest peacefully as you enter the gates of heaven. Lincoln, Ryan, and I love you and miss you so very dearly. We hope to one day see you again. In the meantime, keep on spreading your love by sharing your wonderful and tasty pasta dishes with all those up above. I know Grandma Hazel and Grandpa John were anxiously awaiting their plate of spaghetti on this day when they found out you were coming home. Thank you for adding another angel to the many we have above. We love you.
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