Recently I knelt at Allie’s grave (even writing that brings a
fresh deluge of tears). As I knelt, I
could almost hear her voice saying “be
happy for me daddy.” I responded by
saying “I am trying darling, I am really
trying.”
The reality is she is fine.
She is in perfection. She is not
in loss, pain, and agony. She is in
Heaven. In one sense to wish her back is
the height of selfishness, but that is what we want. We want her back. But in wanting her back we don’t think of the
consequence that would be to her.
What torment - to have been in perfection in Heaven and then to
be thrust back down to this imperfect and painful earth! I can’t imagine what loss that would be for
her. And yet, that is what our hearts
yearn for. At the root it is selfish.
To be fully led by love, would be to be able to celebrate that
she is in Heaven. And surely there is a
part of us that does, albeit a very small part right now, but nonetheless it is
there!
This then leads me to thinking about what Jesus did for us: He left Heaven to enter into earth. And He did it so that we too could enter into
the perfection of Heaven through Him.
What love. What sacrifice. What a price.
Let us not lose sight of this as we celebrate His birth this
Christmas.
Because of what He did, Allie is in Heaven. And because of what He did, each of us can
have the promise of Heaven if we will trust in Him. Truly Amazing Grace!
“Thank you Jesus for what
you did. Forgive me for my selfish
heart. Please grant me the grace to be
happy for Allie, especially during this Christmas season. Grant us the peace of Heaven I pray in Jesus’
name, Amen.”
Jeff Powell
