Shadowland Messages: Death and Mourning

"Death, the e'er present friend of all who are mortal.
Ne'er know we when she shall come for us.
Ne'er know we when she will come for our friends.
So cover us now in the shround of sorrow.
Till the mourning passes in the morrow."
~ Morria Giolla - 2005

Over the years there has been much written on this subject, mostly from the viewpoint of how to get over it and on with life. Yet, Death she never stops coming to visit us, when we least expect it. She never stops taking with her those we love. Why is it, if one grieves deeply in this present age, that they are looked at as morbid and not mentally sound? Let us now look at what Jesus tells us about mourning and death…

Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Ecclesiastes 3:4 “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Isaiah 61:3 “To appoint unto them 

that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. “

Luke 6:21 “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.”

How is then that we are told, “Be tough.”…“You’re mourning too deeply.”… “You’re not part of the family, get over it.”…“It has been six months, and your still mourning?”  "It was just a dog, deal with it..."? On average, it takes a person 7 years to get over the death of a close friend or family member, and longer if the death was traumatic. In the western world especially, where for years disease and death had been far from us… mourning and death became vastly misunderstood.

Even now after this pandemic, we still struggle because of how we were brought up.   Mourning was looked at as weakness, to sorrow as a great failing, and not being merry and giddy as foolishness. Looking as we just have at God’s Word, we see that He favors the brokenhearted, those who mourn and live in the valley of the shadow of death. Let us, therefore, be there for those who are mourning and in deep sorrow. Let us be quick to understand that they are in need, not so much of words, but a listening ear. Let us walk beside them, and gather wisdom from the house of mourning. Often those who walk in the valley of the shadow of death, have a clearer mind as to the limit of time and the importance to walk with the LORD, than those who are in the light of life.

Be of good cheer, He is with us always. He shall heal our mourning in the hour of His choosing.
Death and the grave shall be destroyed, and we and all who believed in Him shall be in the House of the Lord forever!

In Umbra Terras,

 Lady Morria