There is no teacher more discriminating or transforming than loss.
Sometimes I wonder how the disciples felt after Jesus went to heaven. Yes, he survived the grave. Yes, he conquered death. Yes, he ascended to heaven and now is with God. But the hard part, the sad part for them, was that he was physically gone! This time permanently. No longer would they walk and talk with him. His face-to-face teaching and praying and weeping was over. There must have been a deep hole in their lives. One that was jarring and dreadful. The loss of not seeing and touching Jesus was a hard reality. And yet we know, after Christ ascended to heaven, after they received the holy spirit, they became more alive than ever. A lesson for us today. Loss is painful but transformative. I am feeling the loss of the physical presence of my family and friends. I am feeling the sadness of not being able to hug and touch my people. It is jarring and dreadful and hard to bear. But with the reality of this loss, comes a glimmer of new life. When this season of social distancing is over, I will hug differently. Laugh differently. Appreciate differently. Look people in the eyes differently. And never take for granted the beauty of faces.
Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5