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I saw her for the last time on such a rare and wonderful autumn day as this. With fall crispness charging the air, our long, lingering stroll around the campus let her enjoy the unique texture of October breeze and sun upon her cheeks. Our visit completed, I offered my goodbyes–without realizing she was hearing them [...] “It came to pass . . . that the brook dried up” (1 Kings 17:7). The education of our faith is incomplete if we have not learned that there is a providence of loss, a ministry of failing and of fading things, a gift of emptiness. The material insecurities of life make for its spiritual establishment. [...] This is another selection from “Searchings in the Silence” (George Matheson, 1895) that I hope will be an encouragement to others who may sometimes feel they have suffered too many losses when life has taken hard turns. —– THE RETRIEVING OF YESTERDAY Isaiah i.x. 3 v. “They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest” The kind of joy [...] This excerpt from “Searchings in the Silence” (George Matheson, 1895) so touched me and so clearly described my feelings of recent years that I thought it might be an encouragement to others as well. I particularly liked the sentence, “Grief itself robs me of something; it breaks the elastic spring.” And then, “Remove the paralysis [...] I post this 1999 article today in memory of the 15th anniversary of the death of our daughter, Jenny. And though she has drifted away to a far greater extent than mentioned in the article, I have two great assurances: heaven is real, and I will soon be reunited with her–and her mom! —– There are times [...] These three items have been an encouragement to me in the grieving process after the loss of loved ones, and I’m hopeful that they will be for others as well. Please feel to pass them on. There’s a link to a printer-friendly version at the end. —– HOW TO GRIEVE “After the first death, there is no other,” [...] After 30 months of agonizing preparation, countless prayers and the support of many who stood by me and helped me, I am now in a new house. I am thrilled for the fresh start in a place untainted by difficult memories, many brought on by the death of my mate and companion of 40 years. Unlike [...] My wife’s death a year ago immediately plunged me into many new behaviors, almost all exceedingly difficult to embrace. But the extreme distress and displacement I once felt is virtually gone, and I’m now developing a workable routine–of sorts. And in the process I’ve had to learn (or at least have been working on learning) [...] |
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Copyright 2012 James McAlister - All Rights Reserved |
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