Letting Go

For a Christian, death can be a joyous time if your loved one shares faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Letting go of someone so they can be with the Lord is actually not so hard when you consider that going home is what the Christian’s life is all about.

The hardest part of letting go is the loss of the unique things that made our loved ones who they were. Shortly before my dad died I recall going from the hospital with mom over to their house to get some items either she or he needed. When I walked into the house it suddenly occurred to me that dad would never again be in that house. His spot on the couch in the corner of the den would forever be empty of his presence. Never again would we walk into their house at Thanksgiving and see dad standing at the stove stirring the Thanksgiving gravy while mom put the finishing touches on the other things. He always called me first thing in the morning on my birthday. I don’t remember a year when he didn't…until that first year he was gone.

It is those things about a person that you miss; those characteristics and actions that were uniquely theirs and that we came to depend on in our lives.

Nan’s dad was unique in his own way. He was “Grandpa Moody” to most of the family. He had a distinctive way of communicating. Instead of answering in the affirmative by saying “Yes,” Arthur always said, “True.” When you left his presence and said goodbye, he always responded, “Bye for now.” If anyone ever complained in his presence about another person, he was quick to provide a positive comment regarding them. Everything about life had a spiritual application. All the grand kids know “God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light’” as he turned the light switch on in a dark room. You could depend upon Arthur’s strong will, yet behind that strong will was a man who cared deeply for others and who could quickly become emotional when touched by their struggles.

Arthur touched as many as 6 generations of God’s people with his godly life – from Florida to Alaska, Washington State to New York. Even his great grandchildren are influenced by him through their parents, his grandchildren who sat on his knee learning godliness and they watched his unwavering service to the Lord.

Letting Arthur go is easy, and at the same time hard.  Easy because we have confidence in his eternal destiny. Hard because the unique man who touched our lives is forever gone from this life. But because of his confidence in the Lord of a life after this one, I’m certain he is telling us all, “Bye for now.”

W. Arthur Moody, November 24, 1918 to April 22, 2013