Rest In Hope.

Where do you even begin with these things? 

How do you deal with the fact that someone can be here one moment and then gone the next? 

It is something I have never really been able to fathom.

This topic has laid heavy on my heart this week, as I have had to deal with the struggle of losing a close friend as well as watch a coworker deal with losing a loved one. And that doesn't even begin to cover the sad and tragic news involving Robin Williams earlier this month. It is never easy to lose a parent, a child, or a dear friend. And nothing we say or do will change the heartbreaking fact that we cannot bring them back. 

With that said, when others are grieving I tend to grieve right along with them. I know and understand the pain of losing a loved one; and to be honest with you, I don't think we ever stop grieving. 

I remember the day my grandfather lost his battle to cancer. It was the worst feeling I had ever experienced. My grandpa had a one of a kind smile that literally lit up a room. He was just one of those people you wanted to be around. He had a genuine heart and loved others well. There was just something about his spirit that was contagious to be around. Ask anyone. He was a father and a friend to so many yet was taken Home when Heaven decided they needed him more than we did. 

And, though we are left here to grieve, I am reminded that this is not the end. 

While sitting in my living room that evening processing and dealing with what had just happened, I remember looking up. I don't know exactly why it caught my attention, but I remember looking at our ceiling fan only to notice that one of the lights had gone out. And in that moment I felt the Lord say, "He is Home. 

And how incredibly true that is. We were never meant to spend forever here. We were made for so much more. We were made for an intimate, personal, incredible relationship with our Creator. God knew what day would be my grandpa's last day, and though it may have come as a shock to us it was no surprise to the Lord. He knew He was going to get to welcome my grandpa with open arms and that my grandpa would finally be whole and new, and, in complete relationship with his God. 

With that in mind, we can rest in hope. We can rest in hope knowing that our loved ones are where they were meant to be all along. We can rest in hope knowing that this is not the end but merely a beginning. And we can rest in hope knowing that in all things the Lord works for good. He is faithful, He is good. 

So, this is not a "goodbye" but rather a "see you later". We will miss you.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:21-23