You Are With Me

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

I have a friend who volunteers as a victim's advocate with the Sheriff's Department. What the job usually entails is helping people who've unexpectedly lost a loved one. She's been musing lately that when you strip away the veneer and the things that entangle us in this world, what we really have left is: learning what to do with death.

A quick pass through the girls' clothing area in Target last week illustrated this perfectly. There were colorful girls' t-shirts hanging on the racks, but on the front of the shirts were skulls outlined in sequins. One design even had a cute bow on the skeleton's head. (Perfect back-to-school wear for your first grader, don't you think?)

Many people don't want to contemplate death because it's something to be feared and avoided. Instead, they flirt with it. They pierce their bodies in all sorts of strange ways, participate in dangerous extreme sports, and wear clothing with "cute" skulls. They want to be in control of this strange phenomenon called death. If they downgrade it, ignore it, or gussy it up, perhaps it won't be such a scary thing.

I know of three people who have died in the past week and they leave behind grieving loved ones. But all three people have joined their Heavenly Father, and that's something to rejoice in!

(Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado, July 2008, taken by my husband)