As it usually is. We lose a loved one but Heaven gains another angel.

We grieve our loss. We cry. We mourn. We reflect. We ask why. 

But we really don’t get answers. Because those answers to those questions are not ours to know. And we will only get the answers when we get to our forever home ourselves. 

Just this last week a dear friend lost her great nephew, along with one of his friends, in a senseless drunk driving accident. Being only 26, he had his entire life ahead of him, which was cut short by a senseless act of selfishness which destroyed three families, not counting his own. Two other friends were hospitalized and one is still in a wheelchair.

Also last week, a beloved family member of mine passed away at the age of 97. Yes, she’d lived a full life, a happy life, even though she’d lost her husband to cancer some forty years before. But she is still greatly missed by all of us, even though we know she’s had a wonder reunion with her husband as well as her brothers and sisters and countless friends.

No matter what age, or what the circumstances are, any time a person dies, a family is left behind to grieve. To mourn. To pick up the pieces. And continue on while a part of themselves is forever gone from this life.

And for those of us who are left behind it is our responsibility to carry on their legacy in whatever way we choose. In whatever way we believe would best honor them.

There are countless families every day who go through this. And there are countless more to follow. Whether such a loss is expected or sudden, no matter whether the person is older or young, or very young, it’s still a loss, and it’s still difficult for those who are left behind.

In the time it takes to read this, Heaven has most likely already gained another angel from somewhere in the world. 

We don’t know when the time will be. But it will happen. 

And we all need to be prepared. Somehow. And it’s never easy, no matter how prepared we think we may be.

Grief is a part of life, and there comes a time in each of our lives that we go through it.

Heaven’s gain becomes our loss far too many times. Until that one day we are all reunited again. And we will know the joy they’ve been experiencing while waiting for us.

To those who are grief stricken now, be encouraged knowing that one day…that grief will end.