December.  That month of the year that brings out the happiness in people.  There are gifts to buy, songs to sing, parties to host, turkey to cook, and the list goes on.  Christmas is that one occasion that puts the warm fuzzies in individuals and has most of us spending time with family.  For some it may be the only time in a year that they see their extended family.  Enter the word that has had mixed emotions for many decades – Reunion: an act of reuniting  : the state of being reunited  : a reuniting of persons after separation.  For the most part these are joyous times filled with excitement, memories, laughter, food and everything LOUD.  However, for many, these reunions, at this time of year, can be lonely, full of tearful memories and quieter as a loved one is missing.  As I sit here and type my mind wanders to a similar reunion I will be heading to in a few days.  This reunion will be a celebration of sorts, but one that highlights our loss here on earth and a gain in Heaven’s congregation.

The news of Grandpa’s passing came suddenly.  Not what any of us expected.  At first, there are so many questions and confusion, but then as the days pass, you have time to ponder and reminisce.  My mind has even wondered what he has been doing since he first stepped into Heaven.  I imagine he was embraced and greeted warmly by His Saviour Whom he walked and talked with for hours.  Did he meet up with Dad who caught him up on all the happenings since he arrived 28 years ago?  Will the two of them be responsible for laying the golden flooring in the new mansions being built?  Has he met his absolutely perfect grandchildren and great-grandchildren that went before him?  Is he twirling them in the air with his big strong hands or telling them stories?  Does he still have that English accent that must have made Grandma swoon when they first met?  Does he have a plot of roses in God’s garden that he tends?  Whatever he has done and whatever he will do, I know for sure he is healthy and free.  His joy is incomprehensible to us.  He always had this great big grin and that is how I still picture him.

For us that remain and mourn, for us that will be reunited on Friday, it is a slow process.  We can only picture the here and now.  We only now the pain that grips us inside.  It has been said, “Grief never ends…but it changes.  It’s a passage, not a place to stay.  Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith…It is the price of love.”  We weep now, but we can take confidence in and even rejoice in the fact that if we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, the same way Grandpa did, we will one day be together again.  Can you imagine what that family Christmas reunion would be like?!  Revelation 21:4 reminds us that God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.”  There will be a day of incomprehensible joy!  For now, we plod on.  One step in front of the other, day by day and moment by moment.  But as we plod on, let’s keep in mind that Christmas reunion we are all invited to.  It will be soon!  And it’s great to know there are people there waiting for us and making preparations.  Until we meet again…

James “Jim” William Hodgson   May 22, 1941 – December 6, 2018