Rest Now & Dry Your Eyes

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been one of many on an emotional rollercoaster, hoping justice would be served in the violent loss of a life so dear – a daughter, a sister, a friend and a girlfriend – for absolutely no reason.

In a world full of pain, sorrow and violence, I continue to fear for the future for my children and grandchildren. I am continually hopeful that the last thoughts of one’s life are of peace and rest, no matter the circumstances of their death. The soft hand of a loved one passed long ago, reaching out to lead them home. Strong familiar arms wrapped around one’s neck, excited to once again be reunited. That kind smile from someone missed for far too long coming from someone who has been gone for years.

Or maybe that person… that one person whose voice had long been lost in our memories, speaking in an all but familiar tone, standing there as if they hadn’t been gone for years or maybe even decades, wiping away the tears and the pain for the last time with an outstretched hand. 

As one walks closer to that warm light with a hand in that familiar one, is it difficult not to glance back? Not at what horrors lay directly behind, instead at a life once lived, a life full of laughter, joy and love, and a life so abundantly full of promise and hope.

At the end of our life, does everyone plead for more time, for more love, for more memories, and maybe for an explanation why it’s our time to go?

Are we led home with the understanding that sometimes we are not given the chance to say good-bye but through faith and love, we are never truly gone?

Are our last moments ones of peace and remembering? Do we play back everything on rewind through our minds? Can we smell the freshly cut grass of our front yards as children? Or feel the sun on our faces from the family vacations to the beach? Is the sound still crystal clear in our ears from that first concert that led to a love of music? Do the memories of our life leave a taste on our tongues long after we’ve left this world?

When one finally chooses to let go and head toward the light with our loved one, are we led there after being told to ‘Rest now and dry your eyes’ and overwhelmed with an absolute sense of comfort and peace? 

The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that can heal it.
– Nicholas Sparks

Like so many others, I’ve lost ones so close to me that it has left my heart in a million pieces, and my soul cracked a little more. I find solace in the little moments where I feel them continuing to leave their marks on my life. Two Cardinals appearing on a branch together at the exact moment I’m feeling like an orphan and missing my parents more than words can explain. A song playing on the radio reminding us of Timothy when life just seems like it would’ve been so much better if he could have stayed in it. And lately, the smallest things helped me understand that my father in law is all around us, helping us heal and smile.

What brings me comfort is that we are truly never alone after losing a loved one, for they are never far from our hearts, our thoughts and our souls. There has to be a heaven, somewhere better than this, after we leave this place to be together again.

Let the wind surround you in a hug. Let the sun kiss your face. Let the sounds of the day envelop you. Drown in the memories that make you smile, bring you happy tears and make your heart swell. Let your loved ones bring peace and love in whatever small ways they can.

Rest now and dry your eyes for your life had meaning and purpose, and you have forever stained the hearts and lives of so many.