My Tears

I am sitting here in tears, grieving over the death of someone I never knew. Through a friend's facebook page, I found a group that was dedicated to praying for a woman named Sonia and her family. She was young...only 32...and apparently died rather suddenly. She left behind a husband who is a deacon in the Orthodox Church, and a young son named Andrew.

I hate to selfishly turn my thoughts back towards me, but it's hard not to. Since having Andrew, death has taken on new meaning for me. The thought of him growing up, not knowing me except through pictures, makes my heart ache in a way that I can't describe and only a mother would understand. And so I ache for Sonia. I ache for her four-month-old son, who will never again feel the warmth of her touch or the comfort of her arms. I ache for her husband, who now must raise their child alone.

And my tears keep coming.

I believe very strongly that even after someone dies you can still communicate with their spirit, that you can pray for and with them, and they can intercede in prayer for you. I can only imagine how Sonia will pray for her baby as she watches him grow from afar. I can only guess how she is praying for her husband, as she sees him grieve. I will not even attempt to describe her feelings as she joyfully is ushered into eternity with Christ and His saints while at the same time having to be torn from her son and life companion.

And so I will pray for her, that her spirit will have peace. I will pray for her husband, that he can somehow use this tragedy to further the Kingdom of God. And I will pray for her son, her sweet Andrew, that he will always know his mommy, if only in his prayers and in his dreams.

And I will live today appreciating it a little more, thanking God for the blessings of life and love, while working on my own salvation with fear and trembling.

Dear Sonia, may your memory be eternal!

http://soniabelcher.wordpress.com/