Passing-Thought

Death, absence, and omnipresence

"Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by things that remind me of her." A friend recounted to me the impact of his recent break up. So it is also with those of our loved ones who have died. Why is it that the sudden absence through the death of a relationship in one form or another often impresses upon us an abiding sense of their presence in all things. Even for those whom we admit we did not think enough of, now we find ourselves unable to not think about them, at least in the present.

I can't help but think that there is in this cycle evidence of being programmed to expect our relationships not simply to survive death, but to obtain some higher and final significance through it. Perhaps this is a mere fraction of what it means for Christ to be "all in all". "I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away..."