By Linda J. Humes
“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8
It breaks my heart. Every time I pass by a part of me rips. It drives me to an urgency of prayer. Shrines – ornate piles of mementos placed along the side of a road at a point where a life was lost. Not a simple white cross, but a memorial of treasures, family pictures, candles, flowers, trees, elaborate crosses, balloons, clothing, even a whiskey bottle decorates one near my home. Paths to the shrine are kept raked and clean, a row of rocks line each side of the path. Someone spends hours of time showing their love for one lost. This is only one example of many that are scattered throughout the community.
It is difficult to know much about the one being memorialized, but the ones left behind are the ones I grieve for. Do they believe the “ghost” of the loved one lingers there to enjoy the birthday banners, Christmas trees, stuffed Easter Bunny, or the framed photos that are changed every few months? Do they think a disembodied soul floats about, mourning and waiting for the living to remember them at holidays?
I pray continually that God would send someone to the keepers of the shrine, to let them know the peace of letting go. To let them know that there is more to life than animate mementos of life. To let them know about Jesus. To show them His great love. To give them the security of knowing that to be absent from the body is to be in the presence of God. That our peace after death is completely dependent upon our relationship with Christ, not on those who have stayed behind.
I don’t know who tends the shrines, but I know my God. I know that every prayer I utter meets the ears of my Creator, and I know that He can bring the right person, with the right words, at the right time, to touch their hearts and direct their souls.
Jesus, if that person is me – show me the way.
Linda J. Humes 
Leave a comment