Article July 24, 2000 Issue

How love replaces—grief

Peace—even after someone you love passes on

By Cynthia Alyce Neely

Losing someone you love isn't easy. The sense of loss can be heavy. I have found freedom from loss, however, in discovering that the love family members and friends express to one another is permanent. It can never be lost when you realize its source is in God.

I gained this understanding when, within a ten-month period, I lost two people I loved, my sister and father. It was a difficult time and demanded a lot of spiritual growth. My sister became seriously ill while we were on a trip, and eleven days later she passed on. The suddenness of her death left me with many regrets about lost opportunities. After her passing, I learned that she had been unhappy and depressed about her finances and life in general, and this added to my sorrow. In anguish I thought of how I might have been able to help her.

An overwhelming blanket of grief swept over me. I wanted another opportunity to help and love her more, and I couldn't have it. As I began to work my way out of this despair, I started to see her from a more spiritual view. I understood that the physical sense of her was what was distressing me, and I realized that that view had never touched or marred what was spiritual and true about her.

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