Conversations about Grieving & Death

 As I write this, the world has just learned of the death of Queen Elizabeth, of England.  I’ve always admired this lady for her poise and stamina.  She was one of very few stable public figures in this chaotic world.  

     Elizabeth became queen while only in her 20s and continued her role for 70 years!  I can only imagine the challenges she faced, not to mention the constant scrutiny she received.  She would have been an amazing person to interview about all the experiences she had, places she saw, and people she met.  

     Losing the queen, and some others in my own personal circles, got me thinking about death.  It happens to us all and the sooner we confront it and deal with it, the better.  The same is true for children, too.  I’ve met parents who shelter their kids from death’s reality, even refusing to tell them when a pet dies.  They’re actually missing great “soft” opportunities to explain life and death and prepare them for the “hard” losses of people. 

     Discussions on death are opportunities to witness to your own children, pointing them toward making a choice on where they will spend eternity.  Rather than panic about death, be prepared for it.    

 

When Death Comes is a book for anyone with questions about death and what occurs afterward.  The content is Bible-based, not human opinions.  This book discusses heaven and hell, burial vs. cremation, suicide, and even the death of a child.  The author believes “it is wise to know the facts and to be prepared when death comes”.  He also says death is just “a comma in the story of life”.   

     Along that same line, Erwin Lutzer’s book, One Minute After You Die, looks at death as only the beginning of an eternity, either in heaven or hell.  He gives special attention at the end of the book to helping readers prepare “for your own final moment”.  Read this book to see what the Bible teaches about death.  

     We know suffering and death happens, but we still tend to be caught off guard by both.  We may be good one day, but terminally ill the next.  Surpirised by Suffering:  The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life was written “to prepare you for whatever valley the Good Shepherd may call you to tread, knowing that He Himself will go with you”.    

     Queen Elizabeth had a long, full life.  But what about babies or very young children who die? John MacArthur goes through the entire Bible in Safe in the Arms of God:  Truth From Heaven About the Death of a Child.  As a young pastor, he blurted out to a panicked neighbor that her dead infant was in heaven.  While he believed he had given the truth, he didn’t have any real backing for what he had said.  That experience prompted him to comb the Bible for answers upon which to base his counsel to future grieving parents.  Perhaps you need answers, too.  

 

     Yes, it is hard to talk about death with kids.  It’s an amazing concept and can be scary, too.  Use Please, Nana.  What is Death?  to help you get through this discussion.  Meant to be read to children by a loving adult, this book rhymes and  has illustrations to help make explaining difficult concepts easier.  Most importantly, it is based upon truth in the Bible.  

     Please take time to explore and settle this issue in your own life, the lives of those you love, and really everyone you meet that you have an opportunity to influence.  Death is only truly “bad” when the one who dies does not know God.  For those of us who do know God, death is just the beginning of an exciting eternity with the One who made and loves us.  Settling death really just sprouts new life! 

Reading is Rewarding!

Katie

Request the following titles from the Family Vision Library here:

When Death Comes, by Keith Harris

One Minute After You Die, by Erwin Lutzer

Surpirised by Suffering:  The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life, by R. C. Sproul

Safe in the Arms of God:  Truth From Heaven About the Death of a Child, by John McArthur

Please, Nana.  What is Death? , by Margaret Wieland

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