.: no longer the last word :.

I just saw him not a couple weeks ago at Thanksgiving. I remember seeing him sit on the couch and take in the power of having his family all around him. And I even can still hear the words I prayed right before the meal, thanking God for having all of our family with us for one more year. But the news came last night... he had finally passed away. And yes, we can rejoice in the fact that he is now with both his Savior, as well as his wife whom he lost over a year ago. But there is still something that lingers in every one of our spirits as Christmas Eve rolls closer (the subsequent time that we would have gotten to be with him) that speaks to the deep sadness at his absense. No more of his touch... no more of his voice... no more of his tender and deeply compassionate spirit. He has gone home... which almost promises that this Christmas, as recent others have been in the midst of similar losses, will not be the way it once was. When time was golden... when family was all around... when colors were more vivid... and people laughed more, as if because there was less to break our spirits back then. Those sights and sounds seem so close that I could touch them if only I leaned just a little bit further in my memories. A time in which we knew nothing of death and loss and mourning - only life and joy and love and peace. The world is not what it used to be, and in the loss of our friend and family member, we sigh even deeper because its brokenness is quickly becoming a more vivid reality. But praise God, the grave no longer has the final word over a person's life! Praise God, the Father has done what was needed to restore relationship. And we of all people can celebrate because he who was once hurting has, of all things, been healed through the grave. The final word is now life... and peace... and the call to finally come home.

Rest in peace, Ray... We both grieve and rejoice at your homegoing.