Read: 1Thessalonians 4:13-18
Verse: “...Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:17(ESV)
I lost my mother to brain cancer many years ago. It is a loss I still feel today. My mother wasn't just my parent, but also my best friend.
Our son was only six when she died, and he couldn’t comprehend what had happened to his Nanny. But my mother loved that child like her own, and she left a lasting impression of memories on his heart and mind.
The first Mother’s Day after her death was especially hard. My husband and son went to church that Sunday without me because I couldn’t bear to hear a message about moms when I was missing my own so very much.
When they got home, our son brought me a Mother’s Day card he had made in Sunday School. I told him it was the most beautiful card I’d ever seen. My son then looked up at me and said, “You don’t have a mommy anymore, do you?”
I held back tears and explained that Nanny had gone to heaven to be with Jesus and that we would one day see her again. He asked if we would be able to hug her and play with her like we used to, and I told him yes. He thought about that for a moment, in the way that only children can, and then said, “When we get to heaven, I’ll let you hug her first.”
God’s word tells us that when we as Christians lose a loved one, we don’t have to “grieve as others do, who have no hope.” We have His promise that we will see them again one day and live with them in heaven for eternity.
What a blessing it is to know this! Yes, the wait here on earth may be hard, even unbearable at times. But oh, the joy of reunion that awaits us when we get to the other side!
Prayer: Lord, help us draw strength from Your promises and ease our grief and pain.
Thought for the Day: Hugs are waiting for us in heaven!
Prayer Focus: Those who have lost a loved one.
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