First Baptist Church of Herndon

There then Gone

Linda Soller | Aug 08, 2022

Having just returned from my family’s beach vacation my morning walk had moved to an earlier time. The heat at the beach was the driving factor and now at home the same oppressive heat makes an early start imperative. That first morning I noticed so many deer were grazing quietly in the yards, some not even noticing me. At one point when I looked ahead a saw a dear standing in a yard near the road’s edge. He stared directly at me, as though I was the interesting object of his morning walk. Thinking it was best to observe the road before I took an ungraceful fall, I briefly looked down then back up. The deer was gone. One minute he was there and then he was gone. How could that be? Was it possible I had been looking down longer than I realized? Had he leapt across the entire road or yard in a single bound? It was shocking.

Having recently lost another long time and loved member of our church, the irony was not lost on me. The last time my friend had been in church, just before I left for vacation he seemed well. Recovering from some health issues but recovering. We chatted and laughed.  I had emailed him and his wife to remind them of a schedule change for our Drop-In class while I was away. But before I could return, he was gone. There then gone, in what felt like an instant. 

There are few things harder in this life than dealing with the loss we feel when a friend or loved one passes away. Our faith tells us they are with the Lord, and it’s okay to morn for our loss, but no need to morn for them as they no longer suffer. Our brains know this, but our hearts still ache. There are relatively few things we can count on in this world. One is that we never know how much time we will have with those who are dear to us. We must not take others for granted because they can be there then gone in a heartbeat. 

Be the love in the world  :o) 

Dedicated to our friend and church family member – Mike – you are missed.