Ecclesiastes 3:4 “A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”
When our world falls apart, it is hard to understand how the world keeps going on like nothing has happened. The day we learn our child has died, life stops. I am sure, just like me, you can remember looking around and seeing the hustle and bustle of life going on without you. I remember that feeling of wanting to scream, “Everyone, just stop! Don’t you understand what has just happened in my world?”
We often find ourselves living in two worlds. One where we face the reality of our loss and then in the next minute we understand that everyday life continues on. There are those everyday things that still need to be done. Dinner needs to be cooked, houses still need to be cleaned and kids still have demands that need to be met.
It was a Sunday and I had just spent three days surrounded by moms just like me. These were moms who had to let go of their children way too soon. We were for those three days tucked away in a safe place where we could express all of our emotions both good and bad. It was a time to mourn, but also a time of healing and a place to celebrate the lives of our children. I watched one hundred and eight moms write words of love on a balloon and lovingly release them into the heavens. By eleven o’clock, we each were in our cars headed back to our lives.
I found myself driving to my granddaughter’s dance recital. Once again I was surrounded by loving mothers. These mothers were also celebrating their children as they watched them perform. After the recital, as we waited for my granddaughter, I saw parents also give their children a message of love in each balloon and flower that was presented. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I thought of the weekend. How we find ourselves trying to bring these two worlds together. How do we weep and mourn and yet still be able to laugh and dance? It is in the weeping and the mourning that we soon find the beauty of living. We once again cherish the little things in life, even the dinner we need to cook and the houses that need to be cleaned. What I have realized is no matter how hard evil tries to win, love wins every time. The beauty I saw of moms celebrating the love of their child either in heaven or here on earth is powerful, more powerful than even death. It is love that will once again bring laughter and dancing back into our lives.
-- Michele
