“Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Favored are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.” He said to me, “These are the true words of God”  (Revelation 19:9, CEB).
 
“So, you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22, NRSV).
 
     Over the past four months, I’ve rediscovered a powerful truth. Grief is love with nowhere to go.  Those are the words of writer and poet, Jamie Anderson:

Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.
 
Grief is the manifestation of love that has been lost, whether the loss is a marriage, a dream, one’s declining health, or the death of a loved one. Grief is the deep longing for someone who or something that is no longer present. Grief is the ache of unspent love.

     When you and I have a close connection with someone, part of who we are is bound together with that person. We describe our most important relationships with terms like spouses, friends, or siblings. These words are encoded in the brain as we and us. So, when the other person leaves it really feels as though we have lost a critical part of ourselves.

     In a sense, we are on a learning curve. Grief is a form of learning how to be in the world apart from the one we love. I’ve find myself still reaching for the phone to call my father. I want to share my day with him. I want to bounce an idea off of him. I seek his encouragement in the face of my uncertainty. But he is no longer on the other end of the line.
           
     Jesus knew the pain his disciples would face in the aftermath of his crucifixion. Jesus anticipated their sense of confusion and anxiety. But Jesus also knew their separation from him would be temporary.

     Jesus assured his friends that they would see him, again. And they did. What death had temporarily separated, God had resurrected and rejoined. This is the promise of new life that awaits each of us. Those of our loved ones who have died and risen with Christ will greet us at the gates of Heaven, and our tears of sorrow shall become tears of joy.

     But until that day comes, with God’s help we will keep learning how to move forward. We will discover new ways to love. We will develop new patterns of living. And most importantly, we will maintain the great hope of a glorious reunion above.