Cherubs and Hope ... 002

All Better Now

So, what helps when we are grieving?  Do funerals help people get through the loss of a loved one?  Does solitude; or wakes full of stories of the loved one's foibles and antics?  Does time really heal?

I've known people who get memorial tattoos which are basically portraits they carry lifelong on their bodies.  Some monied people start foundations or build libraries titled with the name of that person who died.

Most of us carry on with a limp and a heavy heart, going through our days sometimes well and sometimes ... not.  The weight of the loss does change over time, but does that simply mean our thoughts become distracted by all the obligations that fill our days?  Does time really heal?

Ministers at graveside services often still use the old timeworn words, "in the hope of a sure and certain resurrection," and this is meaningful to me.  One of the reasons that I scour cemeteries for angel monuments and paint them is this.  They are a reminder of the hope of the resurrection.  So that in loss, when we are at our weakest and most vulnerable, we can look up to heaven and smile; gaze on a cemetery angel or a painting of one, and smile.  Knowing that our loved one has passed from our sight, but that we will be reunited one day.

I'm guessing that when a child dies, this is the hardest time to carry the weight of grief.  I am thankful that is not a grief I have known, but my heart goes out to those who have.  This cherub is one of several I have painted so far, and I changed his expression to more clearly express what I feel his message is as he stands over the grave of a child.  It seems he is issuing an invitation to come to heaven with him, cherub to child, like sized angel to like sized human.  He seems a well chosen guide for a small person's journey to the Father.