Lovingly Remembering By Jimmy Braswell / Chaplain

Jimmy Braswell / Chaplain, Home Hospice

An old cliché says, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” – How is that then specifically?

I miss the sight of the body
I miss the sounds of the voice
I miss the feeling of comfort
You feel like home
I miss the look out of your eyes
Your flow across the room
Your ideas and reflections
Your journey – the circumstances of your life.

–These are the elements of loving, being in love… and when the person is not present, we miss them.

Perhaps that is why grief is the opposite side of the coin of love. Love should always be celebrated. Remembering (grieving) is an important (eternal) part of that. Valentine’s Day and all holidays are celebrations of what and whom we love. Spending time reflecting on all of the elements of love on the occasion of a birthday, anniversary, or holiday is the way we “handle” our grief and journey through it. Finding love is too beautiful an experience to ever forget. We are all given an infinite capacity to love and that’s why we hurt so deeply. It is an occasion to celebrate, to joy – which is not happiness – but much deeper.

Love is eternal and eternally beautiful. We incorporate it all into our journey – who we are. All of it is included in our present and future loving.