24 Hours that Changed the World: "A Song of Praise in the Face of Death"
Several years ago I witnessed hope found in the ancient Psalm, “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
I was traveling with a group through the Holy Land; and on the 5th day we headed to the Garden of Gethsemane. We arrived and were briefed on the history, we read passages of scripture, and sang hymns. We were then invited to spend some quiet time among the ancient olive trees. I glanced around and saw friends walking, sitting, praying; it was a holy time for us all. Then I caught a glimpse of one of our travelers, a grieving widower, alone under an olive tree, weeping.
A few days later, he shared that in that moment in the garden, he began to understand his wife’s death in a new way. He said he was able to release his hold on grief, to unload it there in the garden, with the millions of people who had traveled to that place over the centuries. He realized that life and death is something everyone experiences, and that it was time to let the deep sadness go, and to begin to be grateful for each day he had been given with his beloved, and to face tomorrow with a new sense of purpose. Before me was a man who was finding joy again. A new season of life unfolded for him as he discovered new strength and meaning in activities and friendships.
Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist who pioneered the hospice movement, wrote in her book, Death, The Final Stage of Growth, “death is not an enemy to the conquered or a prison to be escaped. It is an integral part of our lives that gives meaning to human existence. It sets a limit on our time in this life, urging us on to do something productive with that time, to become more truly who we really are, to become more fully human.”
Whatever loss we endure - death of a love one, failing health, aging, children growing up and leaving home, loss of a job, disappointments in relationships - may the knowledge of God’s steadfast love give you the strength to find hope in what lies ahead.
Lord, I give thanks to you; for you are good, and your love endures forever. Help me, even in the face of adversity, to sing your praise and to trust in you. Amen.
