It’s 8:28 p.m. Thanksgiving evening. I sit around with my family, laughing, smiling, slightly distended bellies and full hearts. As my father and mother are trying to usher the rest of my family out of our house so that we can bring dessert to my grandmother and my grandpa, who had left our house about two hours before, my Dad gets a panicked call from my grandfather. In that moment I knew, I knew that it was my grandma. I knew that the woman who had been fighting a difficult fight, embracing everything that life had to offer, and always trying to maintain a positive attitude no matter what, loving her children, grandchildren and husband with everything that she had, had finally gone to see the Lord.
I sat with my younger brother in complete shock, in complete and total fear of what was expected of me, what was to happen next. About twenty minutes later, my boyfriend got to my house and drove my brother and I to the hospital in order to see her and be there for our family. Upon arrival, I fought back tears as my Dad explained the situation to us. I started walking towards the double doors under the large “EMERGENCY” sign. I walked in, turned to the left, saw my grandfather and instantly the tears that were once being held back, started streaming down my face. We cried, we laughed, we reminisced about the good memories, making jokes about how we imagined she would be in heaven and so much more. It was in that moment that I realized that I was looking at death completely wrong.
At that moment, I realized that while I was mourning her loss, I should be rejoicing in the fact that she is in heaven: rejoicing in the fact that she in now pain free, has the ability to always be there with us, always able to watch her pride and joy of her family, and that she has gained a new body in heaven and has received eternal joy. While I was grieving, I was thinking about my own personal loss, not heaven’s gain.
I know that when the soul leaves the body, it enters the gates of Jesus. I know that I can find hope in the fact that Christ uses us as a tool here on Earth in order to expand his kingdom. We are meant to serve that purpose, when that purpose is filled, he brings his warriors home. We don’t always know what a plan is, why that plan is, how we are going to move forward, but the important thing to remember is that we must move forward. It is not only what our loved ones would want us to do, but it is what Christ wants us to do. If he brings us to it, he will get us through it.
So, while looking into this time of year with Thanksgiving may be difficult, it’s worth it to remember that there is a reason for everything. That while it may be difficult, it is a time for thanksgiving, for joy, for being with family. Our hearts may be a little bit more vacant this holiday season, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be thankful for the memories that we do have with those who have passed on.
