Thursday, June 26, 2014
Dear Ones:
So sorry to hear of the loss of your precious loved one. It's so difficult when they mean so very much to us! Elsie was such a sweet and gentle person, and a personal friend for all my life. She worked at the hospital when I was born; she watched my mother and her twin sister grow up, and taught them in Sunday School! She was an encourager and a torch-bearer of truth. She lived her faith in her daily life and the world would be a better place if we had 7 billion Elsie Youngs! I look forward to seeing her again soon!
As much as we sometimes hate to admit it, Death is the Great Deliverer from further pain and suffering, which we wouldn't want our loved one to have to endure. At Elsie's age, Death is a welcome gateway through which we pass to be reunited with our loved ones who've gone on before us,to enter their Heavenly home. The hardest part about loving is that it makes saying "so long" or "good bye" that much more difficult. But oh...the reunion will be so sweet! That's where one's personal faith and trust in the Lord becomes the strong arm to lean upon; take advantage of His Presence and peace. Let Him carry you through this long, dark, and dreary "Valley of the Shadow of Death" (Psa. 23), which is a part of the road of Life that we are all traversing.
There really are no right words for a time like this, other than to encourage you to stop from time to time in the days, months, and years ahead to reflect back upon all the precious memories that you've stored up in the vast warehouses of your hearts! It's the wonderfully funny and tender moments that we will have to pull out from time to time to get us over those "rough" times. Draw strength and encouragement from those! Elsie was a very special person!
Please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers in this sad time.
Tom Hatt
