LOSING A PARENT/GRANDPARENT

LOSS OF A PARENT/GRANDPARENT

Losing a parent or a grandparent carries with it life’s deepest losses.  It feels like your entire history from conception through birth and throughout your lifetime has gone with them.  They lived through every moment of your lives with you.  They nurtured you, taught you, celebrated you, cried with you, cared for you, corrected you, counseled you, accepted you, and most especially loved you.  They gave you a name, an identity in this life.  There is a reason behind the name you were called and whether or not you like your name, your name had meaning to them.  They knew you like no other person in your lifetime.  And now they are gone.  

We are alive and we are here on this planet earth because of them.   No matter our age, we will feel orphaned after their death because no matter how close the relationship, we are forever connected to them.  Their DNA is in us, flowing through us, growing our characteristics, our personalities, traits and idiosyncrasies.   We are forever implanted inside our family tree.  Even if we had a difficult relationship with them or didn't know them, they are still a part of who we are. 

God created us in God’s own image and ordained our very existence from the beginning of time and ensured there will never be another one of us in all of time or eternity.  We exist because our parents came together and two cells became a miracle.  That miracle is YOU.  Therefore, You are Sacred.  You are Holy. You are One and Only.  And because of Who You Are, You carry your father and your mother and all before them within you.  

Thich Nhat Hanh, a wise Buddhist monk explained this connection so beautifully:  “If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.”

That is why your grief feels so deep within.  You physically lost them and you physically lost a part of you.  Still, remember, even though they are now physically gone during this lifetime, their energy and  spiritual connection remains deeply rooted in you for you cannot separate love.  You remain a part of them from the very beginning of time until forever.   

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created them; male and female he created them".  Genesis 1:27

For more information visit https://www.chaplainmary.net/
Or check out my book:

https://www.amazon.com/Skirting-Thin-Veil-Meaningful-Life-Changing

Photo by Chaplain Mary


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