5 Spoonfuls Of Courage Sýnishorn

Courage in Loss

I hurried into the exam room, behind schedule, trying to catch up. Charlie, a recovering stroke victim, needed to have his feeding tube removed. I pulled it out with a strong heave. Charlie gasped, then his shock quickly turned into celebration. Removing the feeding tube meant better days ahead for he and his wife. 

My quick fix provided a little time to visit. The more we talked, the more I recognized the shared mannerisms, personalities, and behavior between husband and wife. In their years together the two had become one. Apart from death, they were truly inseparable.

A year passed. Then one morning, Sue scheduled an urgent follow-up. 

I entered the room, expecting to see Charlie, but Sue sat in the corner alone, exhausted and afraid. “Charlie had another stroke this morning. He’s in the ICU. Things don’t look good. I came here because I knew you would know what to do.” 

Later that afternoon, I stopped by the ICU only to find that Charlie had just passed on. I wondered, What do you say to someone who’s just lost her lifelong partner? 

Fortunately, I didn’t have to say anything. Sue chimed in, “I know I can face this. God has promised to always be with me. He never lets me go. Not even death can separate me from Jesus.”

Losing someone we love deeply makes us feel intense pain and we need to give ourselves permission to grieve. Anger, loneliness and confusion overwhelm our emotions, but they cannot separate us from the love of God. Sue assured herself of God’s promise to be with her in times of loss. For the faithful, we are never alone.

In Jesus, believers experience the fulfillment of His Word. We can face tragedy, loss, and affliction because God promises to never leave us. Nothing can separate us from the Holy Spirit, the comforter that comes alongside, living within, strengthening us in our trials. Death, life, present circumstances, past failures, an uncertain future—even cancer—can’t separate us from Christ. 

Sue and Charlie were an earthly example of the believer’s sacred bond—the marriage between God and ourselves--that no man, circumstance, or transgression can destroy. 

Nothing can separate us from God’s unconditional love. Take courage. God is with us. Always. 

Read more stories of ordinary people in the book A Spoonful of Courage for the Sick and Suffering. Find more information on Dr. Page’s website - http://charleswpage.com/