Article August 12, 2019 Issue

Comfort after a loved one passes on

Dorcas Strong

Recently, I lost my dear sister, who was also my best friend. We had shared a very precious relationship and companionship. Naturally, this was a big adjustment in my life. But in meeting this challenge and healing any grief through prayer, I have found much comfort and guidance in Mary Baker Eddy’s words, “When the light of one friendship after another passes from earth to heaven, we kindle in place thereof the glow of some deathless reality” (Pulpit and Press, p. 5).

Through study of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings, I have learned that the light loved ones bring into our life, illumining it with blessings and much joy, can never really be lost. It continues to shine because the light of good, which comes from God, is everlasting. Yes, those we love may no longer be personally present with us, but we can cherish the grateful memory of all the good they expressed—goodness that has its source in God and is therefore eternal. God is ever present and continuing to bless us.

Each time we think of those dear to us who are no longer here, we can be comforted by knowing that they are, in reality, gaining progressive views of life in and of God. And we, too, can gain those progressive views, right here and now. Our loved ones’ absence compels us to learn more about the real immortality of individual identity, its continuity and permanence. We can also learn that good is not personal; it is not confined to a human personality. Goodness can never be lost because it is a spiritual attribute of God and is forever reflected by each one of us as God’s infinite, spiritual ideas.

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