Easter is the season of renewed life. For those of us who grieve, however, our feelings are in sharp contrast to the reality of what’s going on around us. New growth, bright colors, family gatherings, children’s laughter, and beautiful songs of “Alleluia” seem to ignore the emptiness. We need not just “get through” this season with stubborn strength or cold celebration. Rather, we can decisively take our grief into the season and realize newfound peace, joy and comfort. “How?” Well, here are a few ideas for you to consider.
Observe the Easter season in a way that supports/nurtures you. During the last few days before Easter, many faith communities schedule extra services to celebrate the final days and hours of Jesus’ life. Ask yourself the following: “What do these days and these services offer me in support of my grief?” There are times when blending into a sea of unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar faith family allows our focus to center more on the message of the season and relationship with God rather than duties to family and friends. As a result it may help fill you up. Then again, you may feel that meeting with your own biological and faith family will provide you peace, joy, and comfort. Either way, we remember how the Lord of Love was brutalized, suffered, died – then OVERCAME DEATH! Refreshing these facts may help you enter a rest in Him that gives pause to your heartfelt grief.
Another idea for your consideration is to contribute in some way to the cycle of life. The mystery of new life at Easter is a celebration of God’s creative power and majesty. Our hearts get excited as the bitter winter months give way to the longer hours of sunlight and warmer months of spring. Life is renewed. Rather than locking on to our loss in death, let’s refocus our attention on the promise of life that’s all around us. With your loved one in mind plant a tree, create a flower garden/vegetable patch in his/her memory. Think about the goodness, beauty, and nourishment that will result from your contribution to the cycle of life. Death is a transformation, followed by new life!
The third idea is to perpetuate your loved one’s legacy. A legacy is that which lives on and continues to influence lives. One writer said, “Whatever it was that made your loved one dear to you, you can make alive to others.” Whatever attribute you choose, ask God for opportunity to give that to others in remembrance of him/her. Just as new life begins to appear across a barren landscape in the early weeks of spring, so, too, the legacy of your loved one can bring new life, hope, and promise to the landscape of other lives as you pay the legacy forward.
Now, as we enter into this season, we can authentically celebrate by reframing death into a living legacy that reveals that we love no less in death than we do in life.
John T. Catrett, III
124 East Broadway, PO Box 1216
Drumright, Ok. 7403
(918) 352308