Dealing with death

Everyone has experienced a death of some sort. From distant relatives, to close pets, to dear friends, death happens every single day. And it's hard to understand.

One moment the world is fine. The next, it's very different. This is way harder to put into words than I thought it would be. I don't know about you, but death makes me think about life. Why there's life. Why there's death. Why this world even matters.

Everyone deals with death differently. It can be healthy or unhealthy. Sometimes it takes a long time for healing to happen after a death. ...

I have had this post archived for two years. May 10, 2017 I tried typing this up and I couldn't figure out what to say, because I still hadn't dealt with death four years after I experienced multiple hard losses at a time.

The reason why I took the death of my friend so hard was because it was the third death in a matter of six months, and she was the first person my age I had ever experienced dying. Now that number has risen significantly. But I have also finally healthily processed it.

Counseling. Therapy. Whatever you want to call it. I thought it just wasn't for me. I went in a few months after everything went down and the lady just didn't get me. She didn't seem to truly care. She wasn't helping. I didn't like strangers.

Over five years down the line I finally found one that fit with me, and it does help. You have to find the right person.

Also though, time does heal all wounds.

And while I was so incredibly comforted knowing that Anna had gone to Heaven (we worshipped together all the time ugh she was just so great), I know not everyone gets that comfort. But once again, these things really do bring up the hard questions and the topics that seem impossible to answer. It gets us thinking. I think that's for a reason.

Did you know that even Jesus mourned? When his best friend Lazarus died, he WEPT. (God can literally relate to our pains. He experienced the negative emotions too.) (John 11)

And then...Jesus raised him from the dead. LITERALLY ME IF I WAS GOD IN HUMAN FORM LOL But while we can't raise our friends and family back to life when they die... it is so important for us to be able to process through everything healthily. It's so incredibly hard to understand, but it's a part of life. It's impossible to live and not die (unless the rapture happens or if God beams you up like He did a few times in the Bible lololol wishful thinking).

Real quick though I wanted to throw in a misconception about death. Lots of people blame God for death. And while He is all powerful and, really, could smite someone if He really wanted to, that's not what that is. Science is a thing. We cannot live forever on this Earth. Sin is here. Our bodies wear out and that's just part of what happens. Maybe it is easier to play the blame game. Lots of people do that! But to say "God took him from me." Or "God killed her." That's really a stretch. And I'm sure deep down anyone who has said that probably knows it's a stretch.

You can find Joy in the Lord, even after a tough loss. You can find peace in knowing where you'll go after you die. This is the first time sitting down and typing this that I can do it without a mental breakdown. And the reason is, God provides awesome things like empathic human beings that can help us process through this part of being human!

Go out there and get the help you need if you need it. Be there for others. Show compassion and empathy. Everyone just wants to know how eternity works and nobody likes to not have control. You got this.