Sustaining Love
It’s been said that when a parent attends the funeral of their child, it is one of the greatest tragedies of life.
I have never heard of a formal name to call a surviving parent, like orphan, widow or widower … but in my small circle of friends, family and acquaintances, there are more than a few surviving parents. We are kindred spirits, in a fraternity that no one wants to join and once in, can never leave.
When we lost our son, his funeral services concluded on Good Friday, my Father God, the Eternal President of the Surviving Parent Fraternity, endured the loss of His Child, His Son … on Good Friday. I wanted to postpone, it seemed wrong to have a service on this Holy Day, but the military was in control of the timing. I eventually came to realize that God had preselected that day, to let me know that He knew my sorrow, and to assure me that He would walk me through the days, weeks and years ahead, I would survive. Our amazing God lovingly meets each parent individually, as they restart life, without their child.
God’s Compassion, Mercy, Forgiveness and Sustaining Love are on a level beyond compare, as overwhelming as it is to walk through grief, God overwhelms the overwhelming, with His Love.
We must allow Him to truly minister to us, in our grief and as we grieve, for as long as we grieve. His love will sustain us.
“I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” - Isaiah 46:4.
