Reading

It's been a good week.  Isaac and I had such a nice time at the farm on Monday.  He fed grain to goats and Petunia the potbellied pig.  We also picked tomatoes in their garden and made delicious fresh salsa.  

Graham and I had our third counselling session on Tuesday.  We'll go back for a check-in at the end of October.  It's always very helpful.  We started our 10-week bereaved parents group and we're looking forward to returning.  They serve dessert at the end of each session so that asked each person to tell them their favourite dessert. 

I've been reading A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis.  It's been interesting to read his thoughts as he processed his grief after the death of his wife.  I also just started "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church" by N.T. Wright.  I've only read a few chapters but I think it's going to help shape my understanding of what the Bible says about the time between death and the resurrection.  I am excited about that possibility.

A friend asked me today why this is important to me (my paraphrase).  There are a number of reasons.  I think truth is important.  I don't yet know if this is one of those subjects in which I will eventually be able to confidently assert what I believe the Bible says.  I hope I will be more knowledgeable after more study.  I remember asking someone about this long before Josiah passed away because I knew things would be said at a funeral if he died and I knew I would need to say something and wanted to only say things I believed.  I also knew we would tell Isaac something and wanted to be okay with that as well.  I've just read some Scriptures that don't seem to align with popular ideas of what happens at the time of death.  I've read and perused a number of books now but they don't even address the Scriptures that cause me to question.

Anyway, I'll do some more research.  One of the main reasons why this is important to me is because I'd love to be able to picture what's happening with Josiah or his soul/spirit right now.  I know where his physical body rests and I know that we'll ultimately be together again but with my confusion about the Scriptures it's sort of like I have no idea where my baby is or at least what state he is in.  I hope after studying this I will be able to have more peace.  Others have certainly seemed confident that they know Josiah is currently experiencing joyous life in heaven.  We'll see what I end up thinking after some more study.     

This is a little random but I like this quotation from C.S. Lewis that I recently read:  "What do people mean when they say, 'I am not afraid of God because I know He is good?'  Have they never even been to a dentist?"

I've been able to have some nice visits with friends this week.  I've also been reading my entries for the last weeks of Josiah's life.  It's a blessing to be able to read about his days and see his smiles. 

Thank you for your prayers!

Blessings,

Elizabeth

1 Corinthians 15:51-54
⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”^[h]