by Greg Lincoln
People are resilient. What makes them so strong? For one thing, it is their strong faith. We have seen that in you. Please keep holding on to that faith as we journey forward. And thank you for allowing us to mourn freely, without judgment, and with utmost concern for our wellbeing.
We feel so homesick for our daughter. Sometimes the pain of missing her is so great that we are consumed with such anguish and nothing else matters. There is no replacement or anything to fill the void that is left and we are left to continue on with life. We are still adjusting to the changes.
When a person passes on, we are all affected in many different ways. A whole village is impacted and beyond. All creation feels it. It reverberates across time and space, echoing over and over.
Grieving depends on the relationship you had with the person you so love. Parental grief is pure torment but we have been told that the pain will become bearable as time goes by. How can that be so? We still seem to feel the same amount of pain, the same intensity of sadness, the same sense of total loss as it was when it first happened.
We can’t believe this is still happening. Our minds are still shocked at why. Why? But friends, we find comfort in the subtle, quiet, significant signs that God sends our way that only we can understand. Thank you Lord!
Thank you for taking the time to give us hugs and to share your tender words of encouragement. Each time you wrap your arms around us in loving embrace we feel your care and love for us. How wonderful it is to be in that place, so full of comfort and peace.
Your words are not forgotten. We think of them each day, each moment that we feel our sadness.
Assiriciquten.
You will get better.
Nallunritqapiararput qaillun ayuqellra.
We know, we understand.
Kenkamken.
I love you.
This gives us hope that we can look forward to the days ahead. When we think of our precious daughter, she always wanted us to be happy and to do the things that we so love.
Our daughter loved to work with yarn and create art. She drew drawings of animals and people, she wove fibers, and she loved to work with beads. She made grass baskets like her great grandma before her. Her beautiful hands were so nimble, fast, adept, deft, crafty, and so agile. She loved to give gifts. She is inspiring. Let us remember our departed ones with how they inspired us.
As the days come and go, we will continue to grieve and weep. Prayers for you who are bereaved are spoken each day that we think of you. As we tread this path of grief let us remember that we have the hope that this current strife that we are enduring now is nothing compared to joy that we will soon have.
Thank you so very much for your loving cards and letters, your beautiful messages, and smiles that you have shared with us. We look forward to them with each new day. Please think of those who need help and pray for each other, quyana.