Sunny Day Therapy's Blog- Helping Children & Caregivers Shine, Do, and Thrive

There was a short story that I read in college in which the narrator described what it felt like to have snow gradually fill up his mind.  People debated about what the story represented; I liked to think of the snow as death slowly and peacefully filling up the narrator’s mind until he was cold and peaceful.  We like to think of death as peaceful- restful and painless like sleep.  I also considered that the snow could be some sort of dementia setting in, blanketing the narrator from a harsh reality, its beautiful white fluff protecting and comforting the narrator as his mind slowly drifted out of touch with reality.  The snow could represent what it feels like to go crazy, the snow posing as beautiful and soft but actually taking over a mind and life with coldness, emptiness, and disconnection. 

Death is supposed to be the Heaven at the end of the story; but what do we do when we feel that the story has been cut short too soon? When the pages have been ripped out suddenly?  When there were so many memories still to be made and milestones to be experienced? It hurts to know what could have been, to see children suffer and their minds grasp at concepts not meant to pierce the innocence of childhood. 

Death does not always come as gradual falling snow, falling asleep in the night.  Sometimes, it comes as a thief in the night, stealing dreams that have not even been born, slamming shut the story of life in a fury of wild power… like a rock falling from the sky with no warning. You can see a meteorite coming miles in advance.  You can often see the tornado forming on radar.  Yet, sometimes things just spontaneously combust.  Like a volcano.  Like the shot heard round the world. In one moment, the world is never the same. How do you explain that to a kid? 

I read that when golf was first invented monkeys interfered with the game by moving the balls around. Theologian Gregory Jones says we must learn to play the game where the monkey drops the ball.  Why? Because that’s all we can do. The game is more than just one event, one moment, one tragedy.  If we zoom out, we see we are part of a larger story of triumphs and tragedies. We must dwell in the triumphs, dream about the possibilities, live up the highs, and dance in the daylight.  While we don’t know what is around the corner, we know we are not alone.  We know the Author of the Greatest Story of all…. one that is Divine, a story in which time is just a construct, love is a verb, and the power paradigm is turned upside down. 

We have faith in something greater than ourselves to get us through the tough times; we also have faith in that which is in us and the relationships God has given us.  God can work through the people around us, nature, music, stories, etc. to connect to, comfort us, and inspire us.  With God, we have strength to pour into the life around us… to take one step at a time in honoring the memory of those lost by building up the future for living.  We carry with us the stories, memories, and truth of our ancestors to lighten our burdens and brighten our paths. 

Life and death may not come as we expect them; yet, grace really does fall like snow- gentle, beautiful, and refreshing— ready to make all things clean, new, and forgiven.