Loss

It’s hard to understand
where they go -
these people
we love.

With us one minute…
it seems…
holding hands
laughing
arguing
crying -
and then they are gone.

And we grieve.

This we do
in different ways.
We are angry
Or afraid.
We deny
or reluctantly accept.
We beg & plead
Or bargain.

But in the end,
we still miss
the lost one.
And our hearts
find themselves
searching.

As a child
crawls tearfully
to a parent -
holding up an injury -
so we come
to You.

We drench your lap
in tears
and try to lift
flowing eyes
up -
up to where the answers
become less important
than the comfort
of Your arms.

And we discover
that the comfort
is real,
and solid,
and warming,
and never ending.
Like a parent,
You don’t mind
the questions.
You graciously welcome
the interaction
whether we are wrongfully petulant
or blissfully thankful.

And as we walk on
without the lost one,
our healing
is realized in their own Heavenly healing
and we rejoice to remember
that our loved one
beholds Your face.
And we are
thankful
to simply
know
and be known.

Written in memory of Nancy Demus and Joshua Ragsdale on 6-30-10