Mourning in the Morning

“Mourning takes you deep into the soil of my grace.” – Os Hillman

I have a dear friend who recently lost his father after a long illness. Like me, he was given the privilege of delivering his dad’s eulogy at his memorial service. I’m sure he was nervous and overwhelmed with emotion, but thanks to God’s grace and the prayers of his friends and relatives, he was able to get through it. Not only that, but he took advantage of the opportunity to share God’s plan of salvation with everyone in attendance.

When my dad passed away on March 13, 2002, his death hit me like a ton of bricks. I was at the Philadelphia International Airport preparing to board a plane for Florida and a week’s worth of prison ministry when I got the news. “Honey,” Deanna said over the phone, “I have some bad news. Your dad just died.”

After collecting my thoughts, I turned to my assistant, handed him all the information he would need to lead the trip, and headed for baggage claim where Deanna picked me up about 30 minutes later.

From previous conversations I had with my parents, I knew that my dad wanted me to deliver his eulogy. I also knew that he wanted me to share the gospel as clearly as possible. And so, fighting back tears, that is exactly what I did. Guess what? Two people in the audience raised their hands to trust Jesus as their Savior!

My friends, death – and the grief it causes – is part of life. We are born, we live, and then we die. As Benjamin Franklin coyly said in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy in 1789, “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

Since loss is to be expected, how should we handle it? Well, first we mourn the passing of our loved one, whether it is a parent or a beloved pet. I cried like a baby when our first cat got hit by a car and just as hard when we had to put Forrest, our 14-year-old English beagle, to sleep last February.

Whereas I shed my share of tears when my dad died, it was a different kind of mourning because I knew that I would see him again in glory in the not-too-distant future. I’m not sure if pets go to heaven, hence the floodgate of tears I shed on their behalf.

Praise God for his comfort and grace during times of mourning and grief.

“Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.” I Thessalonians 4:13 (BSB)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President