By Miriam Rossow

I find that when I am in the car it happens most often; or when I am doing some ‘meaningless’ task such as ironing. It seems to creep up and find me. It’s a feeling that comes up from the gut and then, as if I am getting sick, it is coming out. It starts small and grows. It is the feeling of loss, emptiness, and grief.

This was the first All Saints Day since Dad died. I am not going to lie; it was not easy. We sang two songs that were sung at his funeral so I was very easily brought back to the day of his funeral. Listen to Chris Tomlin’s I Will Rise, one of those songs.

I could see the casket draped in the burial cloth with a gold cross embroidered across the top. I could hear the choir and pastor as they shared the word of Jesus. I could feel the sadness. I could see my son worried as I cried. I could see him comforting me by wiping the tears from eyes and giving me precious hugs.

It was a hard day as I remembered saying goodbye to a man who was taken too early in life.

There are many times in my weeks where I think, ‘Let me ask Dad,’ or ‘Dad could fix this problem,’ or ‘I wish Dad were here to experience this with me.’ I am often sad when I think of my mom and the emptiness, separation, and loneliness she must experience as the house is quiet. Or the trips that she and Dad would have taken together. And now she is alone in many of those things and times.

Death has separated me and my family from my dad. We are no longer able to experience the same things. We are no longer able to hear his laugh or see his warm smile. We are no longer able to experience his hugs. Death has separated us and it is not good!

I know Dad is in a better place. I know Dad is without pain. I know he experiencing a fuller presence of the Lord. But he is not here with me. His body and soul are separated. His ashes sit in an urn at my mom’s house. Death has separated us from each other and much earlier than I think fair.

The hope of All Saints Day came in the words of promise that the separation we experience at death is not the final word! The promise that my dad is asleep in Christ and will wake up! On the Last Day when Jesus comes again we will not only receive perfect bodies, we will not only be in a perfect and new earth, we will never be separated again!

The separation that death has made between my dad and my family will be broken. We will for eternity get to walk together in the new heavens and the new earth! We will be able to hear his laugh, see his smile, and feel his hugs. Jesus has conquered death and it can not keep us separated forever.

The separation that death has made between my dad and my family will be broken.

The separation that death has caused between me and creation will be broken. In the new heavens and new earth the lion and the lamb will lie together. I don’t know exactly what it will look like, but I always compare it to the picture of Snow White and her connection with the animals. No fear and no death.

The separation that death has caused between me and creation will be broken.

The separation that death has caused between me and my Maker, my Savior, and my God will no longer exist. This is perhaps the hardest to imagine. We will be in a perfect relationship with God. We will walk and talk and see Him with our eyes. Our days of infinite time will be spent in His presence in a way we have not experienced!

The separation that death has caused between me and my Maker, my Savior, and my God will no longer exist.

All Saints Day is a day to remember those that have gone before us. It is a day to remember the love, good times, and memories we had with those loved ones. Most importantly, it is a day to hear again the words of promise that Jesus has the victory over death. It is a time to remember that bodies will rise up! It is a time to remember the separation we experience in all areas of life is not the final word!

Maranatha Lord, Come Quickly!