In our last post we discussed the journey of life as a vessel on a river. When the river ends, our journey fades into the circuitous river which flows into the cosmic ocean which swirls about us each night.
One of the torrential currents of the river is grief. Grief and living on this planet traversing the cosmos seem inseparable.
In many ways grief is a solitary companion which journeys with us as we age. A friend recently lost his wife and a few days later his brother.
There are too many goodbyes as we lose loved ones, friends and colleagues on the road of life. We deal with our sorrow, grief and pain in our own way as we get up to face another day.
My friend’s double loss of a brother and wife within a short span of time must be an agonizing, piercing reality. I am sure his days are long and painful.
Sometimes, it seems that our day of grief never ends. It’s a haunting, encircling phantom which we cannot shake.
For many the grief and sorrow which they experience is an endless loop since they accept the poignant reality that this is all there is to existence. They will not see their loved ones and friends again. One day they will fade from the confines of this earth as well.
My grieving friend is a Christian. Christians have a hope that there will be joy in the morning after their long night of traversing the bitter pathways before them. Christians believe the Holy Spirit will grant them comfort and peace as they deal with the unfair vicissitudes which seem to be lurking in the shadows of their ultimate journey from birth to death.
The motto seems to be: Never give up the hope of the promise that one day all tears will be washed away and joy will clothe the saved for all of eternity. Pain will be no more. The day of gladness will never end. What a reunion that will be!
Perhaps, it is another way to say that life ends in the cosmic ocean. For the Christian as they stand on the shores of eternity and gaze heavenward, they believe there is a place prepared for them up there and perhaps just a bit passed Orion as someone once said to me.
My friend believes he will see his wife and brother again. He believes his parents and grandparents will gather at a grand family reunion up there, out there where a Sunday dinner could last a very long time.
What do you believe? Do you believe there is a place out there for you and your loved ones? Or do you believe death is just one long dreamless sleep without end? Or perhaps, you have no clue?
Just some ponderings from a weary soul traveller on the road of life who feels saddened by his friend’s double loss…
G. D. Williams © 2011
Some songs about that home which many believe lies at the end of the river:
I Have A Home Beyond The River
Sweet Beulah Land
This World Is Not My Home
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
Contemporary Home Songs
Going Home: Mary Fahl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XtNTJhyEYo
Homeward Bound: Simon & Garfunkel
Green, Green Grass of Home: Tom Jones
500 Miles: Peter, Paul and Mary
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