It's Just A Season

We just saw him last month at my brother in law's wedding. He was his usual self cracking jokes and being ornery.  He wasn't feeling great then but it wasn't about him, it was about the wedding. He left to go home to Arizona a couple of days later and little did we know it would be the last time we spoke to him. 

This weekend we remembered my husband's grandfather who passed away. It's hard losing a loved one in general but especially during the holiday season. 

As I sat in the funeral mass yesterday, I listened to the message that the priest brought. He said It is just a season that we don't see our loved ones. Much like in the winter, things have to die and then come back in the spring. We will have a season of loss and grieving but we will have those memories close to us that help us grow and to remember him. While a loss is not something that you ever fully recover from, it does get better over time. 

Now we are in the season of Thanks and Giving. It doesn't stop with Thanksgiving, it continues through Christmas as we see service projects of sponsoring families and children in need, feeding the homeless and singing Christmas carols to the shut-ins.

This season can be the most difficult for those who have lost loved ones. While we recently had a loss in our family, I still think about the loved ones that have gone on before us like my mom did eleven years ago this December. I can tell you that it is a season but our lives do continue to go on and we do eventually become used to the loss. 

It may be just a season but this season is terribly hard for a lot of us. Remember to look around you and offer people encouragement this season. Remember to offer a helping hand or even just lend an ear to those who might want to talk or reminisce about the past. One day you will find that it is your season and you are the one in need. 

Thanks for reading and following along with me. 

Sandae