Hopefully Missing you

Hopefully Missing You
_{Lovingly dedicated to Sarah Lauren Harmening
by her “Mommy”}

Some want me to be silent,
to no longer say your name. 

They’ve no way to know or understand, 
absent a deep loss the same. 

My missing you is not hopeless, 
nor my remembering you in vain. 

Sorrow deep, with Hope deeper yet,
used by Him, my heart to train. 

Steadfastly fixing my focus firm, 
on that for which He came. 

Backdrop of darkest sorrow, 
contrasting bright Hope proclaimed. 

Promise of a glorious future, 
a precious sweet refrain.

For now I wait to see your face,
But soon your presence I’ll regain.

Should missing and remembering you,
elicit others’ blind disdain,

I’ll remember and miss you still,
with relentless Hope, no shame. 

If you are missing your child who has died, or any other loved one, be encouraged there is no wrong or shame in missing them.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, missing them makes all the more sense. We are not missing them hopelessly. To the contrary, our missing them is fueled by a sure and certain promise that we will see them again.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13 [NASB95]

If we will allow Him, He will use our longing and eager waiting to see them again to fix our focus on that which is eternal, rather than all the fleeting temporal distractions that surround us.

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 [NASB95]

I am eagerly waiting for the Hope set before me in Jesus Christ. The Hope of being with Him, and the hope of being with my sweet Sarah again.

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober [in spirit,] fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13 [NASB95]

The ongoing sorrow of missing Sarah compels me to serve Him more fruitfully. As I offer it up to Him, He faithfully and redemptively uses it for my good and His glory.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.” Romans 8:28 [NASB95]

If you are missing someone today, you don’t have to hide it away, and you certainly don’t have to feel shame for missing them. Offer it up to Him. Ask Him to draw you nearer and nearer to Him through it.

Ask Him to strengthen and enable you to steward the sorrow of missing your loved one for His glory. Not by hiding it or pretending it is not there, but by using each opportunity He grants to openly, humbly, honestly and faithfully share the reality of it and His Hope that sustains us in the midst of it.

He who promises to “work all things together for good to those who love Him” is faithful. “All things” includes our very real sorrow and missing of our loved ones.

May none of us who grieve ever squander any available opportunity to see God redemptively use our most costly personal asset, our sorrow, for our own good and His glory.