Death Leaves a Heartache

Hello.  I have a secular stamp set by Impression Obsession that I use for a lot for my sympathy cards, especially on ones where I am unsure of the person's faith.  I love the quote on this card, but many times when I use it I ask myself, as a Christian, if it's true.  Does 'Death leave a heartache no one can heal'?  I'm always conflicted when I read this quote because as a believer, I think Jesus can heal any hurt.  But the death of a loved one?  Does that heartache ever go away?  I don't think so.  I think it gets better with time, and I believe Jesus helps you to continue on with your life without your loved one, but is the heartache ever gone completely?  

I've  only lost three people in my life that were important to me.  One was an old college roommate who was instantly killed in a car accident her senior year of college.  That was over twenty five years ago and I still think of her quite often and wonder what her life would have been had she lived. 

 Another was an elderly woman at my church who was a constant  encouragement to me and the mother figure I never had.  I felt such a loss when she died and also a lot of confusion because this woman had more faith than anyone I knew and she believed wholeheartedly that God would heal her of cancer,  and He chose to take her home instead.  But probably the thing that upset me the most at the time was that as a young woman, I looked at this older sister in Christ as a rock.  No one had faith such as hers!  And yet, she didn't want to die.  She was afraid.  One of the last conversations I had with her she tearfully said to me 'I'm so afraid people will stop praying for me to be healed'.  It broke my heart and crushed my faith into a million little pieces.   And the last person I lost was my father.  No matter how many years have passed, I still miss him.  I remember one time I was at work when an elderly man walked in looking exactly like my father.  My heart actually leaped a beat when I saw him.  I thought it was him!  I got so nervous conversing with him, the resemblance was uncanny!  And he even had the sweetest, nicest personality too;  he treated me so politely, just like my father treated strangers.  I actually hurt when I  met this man, for it brought up so much pain of my father's death, and for one split second I thought he was still alive.

So does death leave a heartache no one can heal?  Yes, it does.  But the Lord can, and does, comfort you.  And the rest of the verse is definitely true:  'Love leaves a memory no one can steal.'  Our loved one may be gone, never to be seen on this earth, but we always have our memories.

 As is my usual style for sympathy cards, I kept it simple.  I stamped both the sentiment and the floral image directly onto designer paper.  The main image is  Papertrey Ink "Four of a Kind".  I then added an organza bow so you can still see the image through the ribbon, and a three dimensional butterfly by K & Co.

So what about you?  What are your thoughts on this verse?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great day!  Amy