Death in His Grave

The song, "Death in His Grave," has been going through my head since we sang it at church on Sunday. It was perfect during worship that day. It was Mother's Day, which is a tough day for me, so getting to sing about how Jesus conquered death was a welcome reminder. It's good to sing songs like this when we are feeling discouraged or missing people we've lost or just longing for our heavenly home.

And then there's today. It's a gorgeous day. The sky is bluer than seems possible and the sunlight almost  laughs as it filters through the trees to touch the fresh, green grass. It's been a good day. I'm accomplishing tasks that I was dreading, my to do list keeps getting shorter, and I'm surrounded by my healthy, beautiful children. And I couldn't help thinking that today is a perfect day to sing about Jesus defeating my brutal enemy, Death. Because, you see, while today is a good day, death is always just around the corner. I don't mean that any one of us could drop dead suddenly, though that certainly is a possibility. I'm talking about the way that every moment we live here is tainted by darkness and death.

Even as I look out at the sapphire sky, my heart feels a touch of sadness. There are parts of my life that aren't as they should be. There are bits of my heart that are chipped. Not quite broken, but not quite whole.

Why am I writing about this? Trust me, I'm not trying to be a downer or be depressing. I'm writing about this because we need to accept that we will never feel that perfect happiness here. There is no such thing as a "perfect moment." That's our reality. But you know what else is reality? One day, we won't be sad anymore. We will be perfectly happy. Jesus conquered death- and not just cancer, miscarriages, or bee stings. He has conquered every touch of death on the beautiful days. Every tiny speck of darkness, every moment of doubt, every twinge of disappointment.

So I look out at my day, the sunshine, the birds singing, the gentle breeze, and I know that, while my enemy waits just around the edges, he has been defeated. He will not touch my days forever. Jesus has laid him in his grave.