This page was originally set up for my friends and co-workers after the passing of their mother. Since we all suffer loss at some time, I thought it best to leave it available. I hope you find comfort if you are at that place and time right now. If you know someone else who is, please share the page with them.

Matthew 5:4

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

This oft' quoted verse is more than a few words to extend comfort. It is a promise from God the very creator of the universe. God knows we will mourn the loss of those we love. Even when we believe the promise that they are in a better place there is a natural mourning and loss that we feel. God understands, after all along with the universe, He created us with all of our emotions and feelings. Mourning is a natural and necessary response to loss. God promises that He will bless those who mourn with comfort.

That comfort is a result of several different things. We do have the hope and promise that our loved ones are in a better place. That death in this world is not an end but a transition to the eternity we have with God.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 

⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”... ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The psalmist offers this in Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me

As we walk through this life with the Lord death is merely a shadow. It is nothing to fear. It has no lasting power over us. Jesus even offered the promise of eternity to the thief on the cross.

Luke 23:43  And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

That's the hope and promise which gives us comfort. Even if we are unsure of whether our loved knew Jesus as their savior, Jesus wants to reveal Himself even to the last breath we take. The thief never lived to change his ways, but the revelation of Jesus changed his eternity. 

There is another source of comfort we can find, one which we, those who remain, have an active part in,  a choice we can  make.

In another often quoted scripture passage the writer of Ecclesiastes shares this: Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

Jesus speaking of His own death said this in John 12:24  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

There is indeed a time for each of us to be born and a time to die. As Jesus says there is fruit to be born of each life, a harvest to reap. This is the choice we each have regarding the passing of our loved ones. We can choose to reap from the fruit of regret, bitterness, doubt and despair. Or we can choose to nurture memories of love and joy and from the seed of their lives reap a bountiful harvest as a memorial to those we love.

So as you mourn today and over these next days weeks and months. I pray that the God of creation will grant you peace and comfort. Peace that incudes the supernatural peace that passes all understanding that only He can give us. Also the peace that comes in knowing that our loved ones are in the presence of their Lord, and finally the peace and comfort we choose in nurturing fond memories, the fruit of a good life.

Here's a link to a great song to bring you comfort and encouragement in this time. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JXjZ7YDE_c&feature=kp