Jeffrey Davis

It’s been quiet here on my blog this last week. The reason? As you can see from the previous post, the wife and I have been in Arkansas with her family, following the unexpected loss of her dad.

For those of you who know some of the details, it was quite a sticky situation to be sure. I am happy to report that many many things worked out for the good and it turned out to be a great time with her fam.

Shaunna, her sister Cortney, and I stayed at a friend of the family’s house there in Van Buren, AR. This trip brought with it lots of firsts for me.

After three years of marriage, this was my first trip to my wife’s home town. It was also the first time for me to meet much of her extended family. It was the first time I got to spend more than 2 or 3 days with her sister (which was great Cortney).

Thank you so much to everyone who sent flowers, cards, emails, and calls. Thanks also to T-Mobile who is crediting us an extra 400 minutes to our account this month b/c of how many minutes we used last week while taking care of everything…can’t beat that.

Today my wife’s dad unexpectedly died at the age of 55. He was not sick. His health was not faltering. It was totally unexpected.

There is a story in the Bible where the greatest of all Israel’s kings, David, lost his son. Upon so doing, he proclaimed,

“While the child was living, I fasted and wept, thinking, ‘Perhaps the LORD will grant me the child’s life.’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

I have offered “comfort” to many in my life who have lost loved ones. In such cases I have uttered things like, “death is a natural part of life.”

But is it….REALLY?

We often times interpret the above words of David as if he referred to a separate “place” called “Heaven” in which he will once again see his son. What do I think he means?

I think he recognizes, as my father-in-law now is, that is son is free from the limitations, hate, and prejudices of humanity. He realizes that though the body is dead, the essence that is TRULY his son is now completely free and totally aware of the Love that is God as he now fully exists as spirit.

Think of Neo in the Matrix. When he is first “unplugged”, or maybe even call it woken up, he asks, “Why do my ears hurt?” Morpheus replies, “Because you’ve never used them before.” David’s infant child, like my father-in-law, can now truly see.

I think David’s aforementioned decree was a lament of his own shortcomings. He envied his son. He realized that he is now fully present with the Divine Love that is God and free of the shroud of humanity.

All that to ask, is death really a necessary part of life? Could the world arrive at a place of such unconditional Love that death is destroyed? Think about it, sickness, pain, hurt, disease, injustice, hate, and death are all symptoms of the problem and not the problem themselves. They are simply the result of a world that has forgotten Love.

Could Love potentially thwart death once and for all? Do you think it’s possible.

As for my wife’s dad, he has now entered a realm that I can only dream to live in one day…even while I’m still alive. It is the realm in which he is fully aware of the Love of God and all the joy that such encompasses. We grieve the loss of your human touch and relationship, Wayne Brown, but as has been said before, you will not return to us, but we will one day be gathered to you…in spirit and in Love.

Live free.

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