"TEMPORARY"

There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and asked, "What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?"

Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, "Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life." The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed.

She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, "I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me."

They told her, "You've certainly come to the wrong place," and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them.

The woman said to herself, "Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?"

She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hotels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune.

The woman became so involved in helping others cope with their sorrows that she eventually let go of her own. She would later come to understand that it was the quest to find the magical mustard seed that drove away her suffering.

Loss of loved ones, family and friends is not always easy to accept. Likewise, the grief which usually accompanies death always seems insurmountable, if not impossible. In fact, some will wrestle with ever enjoying life again.

Such grief is not unusual as we can read where Jesus “wept” when told of his friend Lazarus dying (John 11:35). Jesus experienced human feelings of losing a close friend first hand and knows the agony associated with death of a loved one. Because Jesus has walked in our shoes when it comes to death, we are told in Psalms 34:18 that “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Loving God, we know we must face loss of loved ones on our life’s journey. Your Word does not ever tell us it will be easy to adjust to death but You do teach us You will be there helping us in our time of mourning (Matthew 5:4). Accompany us to bereave, mourn and adjust then help us get back on track to accomplish the reason You created us. Finally God, never let us lose focus of the fact death is only temporary because Jesus made sure there “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold This Body Down!"