Seasons of Healing

Six months have come and gone since we lost our Stephen.  As we watch days pass, the seasons continue to come and go.  As we remember the day of his passing, winter was giving way to spring.  We find the days of spring long gone and summer is giving up its grip to soon usher in the days of fall.  So too do the stages of grief move from season to season.  

These days find us well past the shock of that moment in time we found thrust upon us.  That shock has transformed to moments of sadness and sorrow as we reflect on the life of our son and brother.  We can see the world with him as it should have been.  We can see his engaging smile and hear his trademark laugh in the pages of our memories.  We can see his imposing frame and hear his footsteps throughout the house in our minds eye.  These are treasured memories that keep him forever alive in our hearts and minds.  Remembering these happy memories turn our hearts from the sadness and sorrow into the peace of acceptance.

As we enter this new season, our days are back to normal, whatever that is, with the routine that rules over our days.  The hustle and bustle of our work activities consume our days as life moves forward.  Although, there is not a single day that passes when he is not in our thoughts, the pain and ache in our hearts has faded and has been replaced by the busyness of daily activities, only to return in brief moments of grief when the sadness overtakes us.  We do experience reminders continually as we see young men that resemble him, as well as other flashes of remembrances of his life that slip into our thoughts during our days, but all this is normal and part of the healing process.

Though the pain and sadness is still raw at times, the reality of his absence reigns within us.  The despair we knew has also somehow changed into a peace and calm within us as we remember those happy fond moments of his all too short life.  We thank God for the blessings of Stephen’s life and the everlasting impact he made on us.  We also thank God for allowing us to share our journey of grief and healing with each of you.  God’s Grace and Mercy is the author of our healing, and without Him, we could not begin to share the message of hope and consolation we receive daily from Him.  

Our greatest consolation is the one we offer to you no matter what you may be facing in this very moment.  God authors hope for the pages of our lives if we look to the person of Jesus Christ.  Stephen knew Jesus and held Him in his heart even as doubts and fears assailed him.   As his family, we too know that hope and peace that comes from Jesus.  The apostle Paul speaks of it in his message to the Romans.  He says in Romans 15:13 (KJV) “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”   Does the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace?