(For my friend who recently passed – but for all our loved ones gone too soon.)

It’s like multiple stages of grief in a whirlwind. For a friend’s passing, I got the stage of denial for maybe 45 minutes tops, that’s it. Reality came quickly in God’s Way. Comforting others came paramount immediately. Memories came even quicker in a processing way.

For the services, it came in an easy Hard way – on an easy Hard day. In an unfathomable way, we knew we would get to this day. But in a way, nothing could prepare us for the day. So our focus shifts from our grief to helping others with theirs. That is God’s way to make easy a hard day. Help in every which way. Help others get through their day.

The service and the logistics and sharing of the meal, (even getting the tire out of the rut of the driveway), well it was all fairly easy that day, in a very tough way. People shared a slice of God’s ultimate grace, I must say. We found ease even if it was from a hard way, on a hard day.

It was hardly an easy day, but a hard easy day. Easy in that we were taken care of. And we also took care of each other. That came easy. That’s the easy part of hard: Love, grace, mercy. 

It was easily one of the hardest days. I saw my friend’s family and that was hardest, to know only a fraction of their grief, all stages, and easy to see why they grieved. They loved her, daughter, sister, wife, mother. Loved her with an easy love, even in a hard situation. She loved them hard, that was easy for her. She lived a hard life with the seemingly gift of just enough ease over pain, and trust me she had hard pain. Her hard days ended with much pain, now eased away.

Love is easy. Love is hard. Life is easy. Life is hard. What makes hard life easy? Or easy life hard? Hard to answer that, but easy to see that our lives are gifted an ease to hardness. How else would this complicated brain, emotions, coping mechanism and complicated body survive and even thrive. If forming, growing and living life in us is not complicated enough, then nothing is. If putting the infinite spirit into a complex system, requiring us to nurture and care for each other, was and is “so easily” done by God, then NOTHING is hard for God. Nothing will be either. God doesn’t hold us together with skin or glue, but with LOVE. Hard love easily given. God is love, nothing hard nothing easy, just Love. 

Our bodies will give way, pass away.

But God’s Love will be our stay.

Let us pray for all of us today.

Love is an easy gift, even if made perfect in a hard way.

Lord, let us today, Love Your Way.

Amen 

—

“Is any thing too hard for the Lord? ” Genesis 18:14

‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.’  Jeremiah 32:17-19

“For with God, nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37