One was a service for a two-soon-to-have-been-three year old girl who passed away after fighting a debilitating illness she had been with since her birth. The second was of a husband, father and grandfather who died unexpectedly at age 71. The third was of a friend who had lived to the ripe old age of 98 and up until a month ago was still playing tennis every week and getting around like someone 30 years younger.
It became clear to me that death was hugely disruptive in every case and something jarring happened in God's created order. At the same time, death was not victorious for there was much to celebrate in these three precious lives and in each one's place in eternity. God's purposes and plans were different for all three people yet we knew that His hand was evident in each of these three lives.
A good friend reminded me recently that our hope for the future gives us the courage and determination to live fully and abundantly in the present; to embrace all that life has to offer right now in this very moment.
I will include a short note I wrote to the family of the little girl who passed away as part of the comments to this post.
