Contemplations

Sometimes it hits at the least expected moment:  missing him or her.  You think you've been through that already but no, it happens again.  Something or someone reminds you.  There is no "getting over" it.  Many of our friends/relatives have said "goodbye for now" to loved ones during the last three years--more than we saw get married or have children in the same time period.  It is a hurt that may change in intensity but it never goes completely away--not even after 17 years, which it will be for my Mom and the rest of the family.  No, a loss is a loss.  But Scripture brings comfort.  Here is a sample:

Isaiah 41:10:  "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Isaiah 43:1b-2:  "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; nor shall the flame scorch you."

Excerpted from Psalm 146:  "The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless."

Psalm 68:5:  "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation."

God's work of prayer:

John 17:20-26: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.  Father, I desire that they also, who you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.  I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

Romans 8:26-27:  "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with moanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."

Hebrews 7:23-25:  "The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he abides forever.  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."