Here on Earth and There In Heaven
I am fortunate at my age to have both of my parents and many of my elderly family members still living, but I did experience death frequently early in life. My first conscious experience with grief was when my junior high band director passed away from cancer. He was also a very active member of my childhood faith community, which was a double sting. Then, less than a year later, my uncle—whom I am named after—died after a battle with bladder cancer. Both of these losses created huge voids for me to work through at a young age.
My next major loss was the death of my cousin, Chesley. I was closer to him than I was to my own brother, and he and I were pretty much raised together in a close-knit family where our families co-parented, and we spent almost every weekend together with sleepovers. This was the loss that hit me the hardest and changed my perspective on life and death. I wrote a reflective poem and read it at his funeral.
Next, I watched two close childhood friends lose their parents much too soon. In high school, they were the "cool" parents who always made life fun and welcomed everyone with joy and humor. As I transitioned into college, when chain emails were a thing, I kept in touch with them. They were both very spiritual and had a huge impact on my worldview and belief in interfaith practice. A couple of years after they had both passed, my friend Julie came up with the idea that we should meet in Paris for Christmas. Me and her husband would dress up as elves on Christmas Eve, and we would take the hop-on, hop-off bus throughout the city to spread their ashes at all the Parisian landmarks. We did just that, and it is one of my best memories—a bond that surpasses all of our understanding of life.
Experiences like these are exactly what inspired the name of this blog: Let Heaven and Nature Sing, which is, of course, a lyric from one of the most popular Christmas songs, "Joy to the World." But all of us who have lost loved ones have moments where we know, without a doubt, that we're interconnected—us here on Earth and them in Heaven. A beautiful sunrise or sunset, or a visit from a bird in nature, may trigger a sense of union with those who have gone before us. One of the only joys we have once we lose someone is keeping their memory alive. Look for moments in your life when Earth and Heaven are in union... When they are, listen to your surroundings or sing.
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