Grief: Keeping Our Emotions in Check

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22,23 A beautiful Autumn day, a cup of tea with my husband, a visit from our daughter, Sunday worship, evenings with our remaining boys still at home - all these give rise …

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Strength From the Sorrow – Streams in the Desert, March 11

"Weeping inconsolably beside a grave can never give back love’s banished treasure, nor can any blessing come out of such sadness. Sorrow makes deep scars; it writes its record ineffaceably on the heart which suffers. We really never get over our great griefs; we are never altogether the same after we have passed through them …

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Looking Forward

It would easy to spend all my time preoccupied with the past. The way it was. Looking at – no examining - old photographs.  Studying, not just the image of our son, but the background, too.  Everyday scenery that has not changed but is so totally different now.  Trying to find the what-ifs casually arranged …

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Courageous

Eight days before Hans died, in Sunday morning worship at church, we sang the hymn “More Love to Thee” by Elizabeth Prentiss.  It is a challenge for me to sing this hymn honestly and I have always hesitated when beginning verse three which, in our hymnbook, reads: Let sorrow do its work, Send grief and …

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Time. The Enemy?

Death is not the enemy, for it has been conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ.  He rose the third day, defeating death forever.  Death cannot keep me from Hans.  No, death will reunite me with him. And distance is not the real enemy, either.  Hans’ body, though inanimate, is here with us at home, buried …

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Compelled

It is over seven months now since Hans left us for Heaven, yet I still get these illogical, unrealistic, untrue thoughts/longings/compulsions to find him.  For instance: It’s such a beautiful breezy day; it’s hot and the birds are singing… He must be out in the fields or walking along the railroad tracks.  If I start …

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Old Yeller Truck

The other day I went to the yellow pickup to see if Hans left anything in there.  Sure enough, there was his Forestry Department issued clothing from when he worked last summer helping out for few days on the wildfire south of Nenana.  It was all folded up neat as a pin and piled on …

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Racket

This summer, our first without Hans, has been like no other.  In addition to Hans being gone, the rest of the family have been away from home for much of the summer work season. And it is very quiet. One of the first things that struck me after Hans went to be with Jesus, was …

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