From Sadness to Celebration

You may be familiar with Relay for Life. Relay for Life events are intended to, among many goals, bring about awareness and raise funds for the fight against cancer. In addition, they provide a time for honoring cancer victims, celebrate survivors, and recognize caregivers.¹ I’m sure those attending Relay for Life events bring a myriad of emotions with them to the event.

I wonder if those are the same emotions they take away.

Granny Ruth and Maw Maw are my wife’s and my mother, respectively. Those names are how they were known by their grandchildren. Granny Ruth died from pancreatic cancer. My mom, brain cancer. Our family attended a Relay for Life event for all the reasons I’ve stated. When I arrived at the event, my main goal was to honor our moms. I’d never attended one before and really had no idea what to expect. After walking several miles with a community of folks linked by the effects of that terrible disease, I’d already gotten more than I had come for.

I began the night focused on honoring those gone before me and finished with that and much more. My emotions evolved from sadness to celebration as the night progressed.

From Sadness to Celebration. #hope #joy #writingcommunity Click To Tweet

The photo forced me to stop a moment and consider death. It reminded me of memories of my mom.

Was I sad? I was.

Did I remain sad? I did not.

How does that happen?

How can we rejoice when someone dies?

We often hear of celebrating someone’s life. Maybe their funeral is called a celebration of life service. I believe that is a wonderful way to recognize the loss of a loved one. In addition, I believe as sad as it is to have lost someone, we can rejoice in knowing the life they are living after leaving this earth.

The Bible assures us of the hope of eternal life. 1 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.” (NASB)

Isn’t that worthy of rejoicing? No matter how difficult the life here on earth, those experiencing a relationship with Jesus will be raised up like Jesus. They will be made alive to spend eternity in heaven.

Just like my emotional Relay for Life journey moved from sadness to celebration, to me, those lighted luminarias also represent the light of eternal life for those names written on the paper bag. A reminder they are honored here on earth while they celebrate and worship in heaven.

Do you have that hope for your loved ones or yourself?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.

¹ https://secure.acsevents.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=relay_learn