the day of no more

I have been working as a Bereavement Coordinator at Albany Community Hospice for more than 2 years now. You may ask what it is that I do. And the simple answer is that I serve families who have lost a loved one. We provide support groups, resources and individual counseling for people in the community who have experienced the death of a family member or friend.

During this time, I have talked with people who expected their loved one to die as well as people who did not expect death. Some of the deaths have been tragic while others have been a relief. I have listened to parents talk about the heaviness and engulfing sadness that never leaves. It just camps out in their soul. The death of their child has shaken their world and left them with a huge hole in their heart.

I have talked with people who lost their spouse to death. They sleep alone now. They cradle their husband’s sweat shirt or their wife’s night shirt. The evenings are the worst they say because this is the time of the day that they would spent together. I have talked with adult children who wish that dad was still there for a word of wisdom about a pending decision.

And all of this has given me new appreciation for two words in the Bible: "No more." It says that there is coming a day when there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying and no more pain. After numerous conversations with grieving people, I am so looking forward to this day of no more. No more grief support groups. No more phrases like “terminal illness.” No more violent crimes. No more memorial services. No more. No more. No more. Awesome words from GOD. One day there will be no more.

I am grateful for the hope I have for the day of no more. This hope is what helps me make it through these difficult conversations. I can face these times with joy because I know that death is not the last word. It is trumped by the day of no more. You can hug your child again. You can talk to your dad again. You can hold your wife’s hand again. All because the day of no more is coming. And that is because of Christ.

Every beating heart longs for freedom. No one likes to be chained by anything. We desire financial freedom. We desire relational freedom. We want to be liberated from anything that holds us captive.

And so what do we do with this freedom? We do whatever we desire, right? After all, isn’t that the essence of freedom – the ability to do whatever we want?
If I can go wherever I want, then I am free. If I can buy whatever I want, then I am free. If I can talk to whoever I want, then I am free.

Really? Is freedom really all about me? Is freedom really focused on self and all that I want? Because when I look around at people I know, the most liberated people are those who focus very little on themselves. The free people are those who are giving themselves away. They see freedom as an opportunity to bless others. They see freedom as the right to serve others. They spend their days looking for opportunities to touch another person’s life. I have discovered that free people are those who are not chained to themselves. Somewhere in their past, they gave up trying to please themselves and in that moment, they found liberty. In the words of Martin Luther King, “Free at last! Free at last!”

And yes their freedom was costly, perhaps even sacrificial. But after that liberating moment gave them the opportunity to live for others, they would gladly pay any price for the chance to do what they are doing now. Peace and contentment becomes a way of life for the free people.

So if you find yourself in bondage today, here’s a question: Who are you thinking about most today? If I had to guess, I would say that your greatest bondage is selfishness. Step toward someone today who needs you. And in the process, you will feel the chains weaken.