Monday, November 17, 2014

Heaven's Gain.

My beloved grandmother passed away on September 26th, 2014 at 2:30am. Her death brought with it a wave of pain that words cannot express. Every time I think about how much I miss her, I cry (cue waterworks), but I haven't fallen into a depression. I think I'm learning. Granted, it's been a much slower process than I would have liked, but I have learned so much. I've learned that depression implies a sense of hopelessness and despair and as long as I look to Christ in the midst of sorrow, however great, I can never lose hope. Without Christ, we have nothing to hope for, but with Him, we have everything we need.

I sometimes feel emptier inside now, like a part of me is missing. I think she took hold of a piece of my heart and now that she's gone, I only have memories. But her legacy will live on through those beautiful memories I (and the people who had the joy of knowing her) have. What a strange thing death is. One moment there's a human there, with a story and a heartbeat and a soul and the next minute, only the story remains. It reminds me how precious life is. It shouldn't be taken for granted, but we all inevitably fall into the trap of becoming so... comfortable with the way things are. We think we have so much time left, but the truth is, every day is a gift.

We often miss opportunities to do simple acts of kindness, like smiling at a stranger passing you by, or calling an old friend that you haven't talked to in a while, or giving a gift to someone for no reason at all. But we need to do those things, because you never know what someone might be holding inside. Everyone has something that causes them pain in their life, or something that makes them feel alone and you or I could be the one to make them smile, even if only for a moment. What are we waiting for? Tomorrow is not guaranteed. All we have is today, so let's make the most of it, remembering that each and every day, every breath, is a gift.

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