A friend of mine wrote poetry before he died. His name was Dallas Brown. He wrote two books: Intimate Voice of God, Heavy Rain and Light Breezes.

The following is an unpublished poem by him for me and my second wife after my first wife passed.

Under His Wing

Under the Wing of God

I found you

My love, my one and only,

We would have been married long

And happily

But your tragic death

Changed all plans.

Why? Why was I bereft

Of my youthful, loving,

My chaste virgin,

Who knew no man,

Who waited until we

Became one in our own home?

My love for her will not fade.

Healing trudged slow

And sadly, until a day

When he touched my face,

With a Light Breeze

Reminding me of his many

Blessings of life.

I could only love again,

By this power of God.

Don't think me rash,

Or hasty, or as giving up

On a dream I once had.

My dream remains

To do His Will!

If a friend join me

As a new wife

In the Lord,

We shall continue on

In His Steps!

"The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot" (Proverbs 10:7).

Yesterday, my dog was taken to the vet.  It turned out to be a situation of dire-straights.  Surgery was needed or he would die.

It wasn't long ago that my wife found out that she had cancer.  Talk about dire-straights.  Well, she eventually died.  I have never been so distressed in my life.

I was amazed at how the situation with my dog flooded me with emotions.  I had to deal with a doctor, sickness, money, loss, lack of control, tears, and fear.  It took me back to my wife and the love and challenges that came with illness.

But in all things, I remember that I can turn and should turn to God.

The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Grieving is a natural part of loss but not an easy one.  The loss can be anything from a job loss to the loss of a loved one.  (Please, see my article on God, Do You Love Me?)  But those who are in Christ have hope - Heaven.  Heaven is a place where God is and He promises to wiped away all our tears.  How glorious that will be. 

There are a couple of books on loss and grieving in my reference section.  It is hard to know what to say or how to act when someone is tramatized by loss and in the process of grieving.  My advice, as one who has experience the loss of a spouse, is not to give advice unless asked.  Be a good listener and offer a hug in quietness.  Yet, the best thing that can be done for someone in any loss situation is being proactive with the teachings of Christ.  The greatest gift you can give any person is the knowledge that the Lord is on thier side regardless of life's experiences.  Don't wait to teach them, and all people you come in contact with, the true Gospel of Christ and then "brothers . . . you may not grieve as others do who have no hope (I Thessalonians 4:13).

I encourage you to teach others, daily, about the hope in Christ.

The Lord's humbled . . . John A. Reeves