Is it sunrise or sunset?

Sunrise, sunset; Sunrise, sunset.

Swiftly flow the years;                   

One season following another;     

Laden with happiness and tears.

(from Fiddler on the Roof)

My son's father-in-law died early this morning.  When my son called me at 6:00 a.m., he told me he had been with his dad when he quietly and peacefully slipped through the veil.  In the hour between his last breath and the arrival of hospice, my son had one of the most spiritual and peaceful moments of his life.  He was still in awe several hours later.

I am often asked by those who are grieving, why such partings hurt.  Why can't someone just go to sleep and wake up when all of it is over?  Isn't there a pill to take to make all the pain go away?  The answer to both questions is, of course, no.  When we love, there are ties of closeness much stronger than we sometimes realize.  When those ties are severed, even temporarily, we feel that loss, that empty corner of our hearts where our loved one once resided.  We have to experience our grief; allow ourselves time; allow ourselves tears.  Even when we know that our loved one is in a better place; even when we know that we will see him again, we have to allow for those human emotions of grief. We have to allow the heart to learn what the head already knows.

Why do such partings hurt?  Because to take grief out of death, one would have to take love out of life.  That is an unacceptable exchange.  So to my son, and to the family, hold on to those peaceful moments.  God understands.  Even though He knows partings hurt in this life, He is most gracious and sends His Comforter to speak peace to our minds as He did for my son this morning.  He has complete empathy because He felt all that we feel and more.

Sunrise, sunset.  But is the sun really setting?  Or is it rising on new life for us all through Jesus Christ?