A friend once confided that she often felt a secret sadness at family gatherings and celebrations because she dreaded the future when either she or her husband would pass on and the other one be left behind alone. Several times over the years she'd lost members of her family and each time had been devastated by grief and a sense of loss. At family parties she always thought, "We're happy now, but it's too good to last."
She is, as I am, a student of Christian Science. "I know Life is eternal, that God is infinite Love, and that in God is where we really all are and always will be," she said. "But I still hurt when I lose someone I love. I just wish I could learn how to have it hurt less when it happens."
Human grief can be healed. A comforting psalm of praise declares, "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.... Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." PS. 30:2, 11. Figuratively, our mourning can be turned into dancing. But how do we go about making this healing real? Like my friend, we may know intellectually that Life is eternal, as Christ Jesus taught. But we also need to know this truth in practical experience, if we are going to gain dominion over bereavement.
