I'm a chaplain whose friend just died, and I'm wrestling with Paul's words about being torn between desire to depart and be with Christ and the reality that staying serves the community. I'm not facing death, but I'm facing a grief so profound I almost understand the appeal of being done with this life.
What Paul articulates that's comforting is that both longings are legitimate. The desire for heaven is real and good. But so is the commitment to serving the people in your charge. We don't have to pretend the pain isn't there or that we're thrilled to stay in a broken world. We can honor both the difficulty of this life and the significance of the work we're called to do.
That double truth has kept me going. I don't have to pretend that grief doesn't make me long for something different. But neither am I released from my calling to help people navigate their own grief. Both are real. Both matter. Both are reasons to keep showing up.
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