Grieving With Hope

(I wrote this for Luke's committal service last Thursday and read it at his graveside just before we laid him to rest.)

We stand here today...
in a dreadful place
on a dreadful occasion
because of a dreadful loss
We stand here today...
ravaged by grief
our hearts have been trampled
we are wounded and broken
we bleed and we weep
there will be no forgetting, there is no escape
We stand here today...
without the luxury of choice
sinking toward depression
wrestling with despair
brawling with anger
fighting our fears
We stand here today...
more intensely familiar
with death’s lingering stench
more intimately acquainted
with the grave’s vicious sting [1]
more keenly aware
of life’s grass-withering fragility
its flower-fading brevity [2]
We stand here today...
struggling to reconcile
some of the things we believe
holding on tightly to those scarce certainties
we know to be true
asking questions never faced before
none more often than ‘Why?’
except for ‘How?’
in this world do we go on
We stand here today...
forever changed
never again the same
in some ways, bad
in all ways, eventually good
We stand here today...
beaten and battered
but not totally crushed
bewildered and confused
but not surrendering to our despair
and though there are questions aplenty
we have not been forsaken
and we are not destroyed [3]
We stand here today...
having limped to this place
our hearts overwhelmed with sadness
over the profound loss of our precious Lukey
our minds filled with wonder
at what might have been
our souls buoyed with a new-found longing
for that place we call home
We stand here today...
reminded anew
that our soul’s constant hunger
its unrelenting thirst
its persistent longings
its empty yearnings
will never be fully satisfied
‘til Christ’s promised return
We stand here today...
in a beautiful place
with all of Creation
as it raises both chorus and groan [4]
of praise and of ache
up to the heavens, to the Father above
for who He is, for what is to come
We stand here today...
in an expectant place
for from this very spot
our ‘Little Man’ will rise [5]
when Jesus comes calling
oh what a beautiful thought
Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, come even now [6]
We stand here today...
bolstered by grace
our hearts have been strengthened
in mysterious ways
We stand here today...
grieving with hope
for we are not among those
who have nothing to look forward to [7]

_________________________

[1] 1 Corinthians 15:55
[2] Isaiah 40:7-8
[3] 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
[4] Psalm 148; Romans 8:22
[5] Prior to Luke's service, my friend and mentor, Clayton Blackstone, shared this thought with me. It's a thought that had not crossed my mind before. It's a thought that illustrates well the hope aspect of "Grieving With Hope." It's a thought shared about one year ago by Clayton's brother-in-law, Phil, at the funeral of his wife Tammy, who lost her life in a tragic and senseless traffic accident. I've inserted a portion of Phil's comments below from what he spoke at Tammy's funeral.
“So this is where it’s going to happen.”
This is where the casket and vault we seal today will burst forth with explosive, uncontrollable, unstoppable force.
This is where Tammy’s faith will become sight.
This is where she will rise to meet her Lord in the air.
This is where her doubts will be erased.
This is where her questions will be answered.
This is where every promise in Scripture will come true.
This is where every hope and dream will be fulfilled.
This is where sorrow and sadness will become a thing of the past.
This is where Christ’s victory will triumph over death and dying.
This is where Tammy will exchange her mortality for immortality and her corruptible nature for an incorruptible one.
This is where unending life will begin.
This is where my bride will rise with the gathered saints and the Church will be joined with her Bridegroom as He descends through the clouds.
This is where the woman, whom I’ve loved and strived to make happy, will experience “unspeakable and full of glory” joy.
This is where she will hear the heavenly invitation, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into My Kingdom.”
Yes! Yes! A symphony of yeses! This “sleeping place” will one day become the most beautiful place in the world.
[6] Revelation 22:20
[7] 1 Thessalonians 4:13, The Message