Be.....Attitude

"God blesses those who mourn for they will be comforted."  (Matthew 5:4)

It is hard to believe but our Dad has been gone seven years as of last night.  I was his primary care giver for just over 12 years.  We, he an I, were in ministry together for just over 12 years.  He was still doing ministry up until lunch the day he died.  He was meditating on Psalm 100 - "I will come into His courts with praise and thanksgiving" - as he slipped into the coma soon after lunch.  This is a life we can celebrate as we celebrate All Saints Day.  This is a life we can celebrate even as we mourn the father, friend, mentor and "crazy" (I come by my "crazy" honestly!) person he was.

In Matthew 5 we are given the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes.  Jesus is encouraging each of us, just as he encouraged the people sitting on the mountain listening then, about God's care for each and all of us.  Jesus is also, I think, suggesting an attitude for each of us to be taking.  We should "be merciful -- being kind to people."  We should "be peace makers -- when people are fighting."  And when people are mourning we should be helping them to remember the love, the life, we celebrate.  Sometimes we need to be "God with skin on."

A little different way to look at, think about and act on the Beatitudes.  Yes, we mourn the loss of a loved one.  Yes, we go through all the stages of grief.  Yes, we can also be "comforted" as we celebrate the life of the loved one we know is with God.