A Loss

We had a loss in the family. You may remember this post about Mack... well, he got pretty sick. He wouldn't shed his skin on his own, and he wouldn't eat. Lincoln found him dead a few mornings ago. When Hunter realized this he was upset. After some consoling from me, he decided he really needed to see Grammie, so I took him to see her. Of course, being the awesome Grandma and counselor that she is, she had a book all prepared to read with him when he arrived.
The book is written from the perspective of a leaf, and through the story he learns all about the process of life and death.

Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from the book:


"'It's what happens in the Fall', Daniel told them. 'It's the time for leaves to change their home. Some people call it to die.'

'Will we all die?' Freddie asked.

'Yes,' Daniel answered. 'Everything dies. No matter how big or small, how weak or strong. We first do our job. We experience the sun and the moon, the wind and the rain. We learn to dance and to laugh. Then we die.'

'I won't die!' said Freddie with determination. 'Will you, Daniel?'

'Yes,' answered Daniel, 'when it is my time.'

'When is that?' asked Freddie

'No one knows for sure,' Daniel responded."



...He saw that some of the leaves lashed back at the wind before they fell, others simply let go and dropped quietly.


...Soon the tree was almost bare.

'I'm afraid to die,' Freddie told Daniel. 'I don't know what's down there'

'We all fear what we don't know, Freddie. It's natural,' Daniel reassured him. 'Yet, you were not afraid when Spring became Summer. You were not afraid when Summer became Fall. They were natural changes. Why should you be afraid of the season of death?'

'Does the tree die, too?' Freddie asked.

'Someday. But there is something stronger than the tree. It is Life. That lasts forever and we are all a part of Life.'



...At dawn the wind came that took Freddie from his branch. It didn't hurt at all. He felt himself float quietly, gently and softly downward. As he fell, he saw the whole tree for the first time. How strong and firm it was! He was sure that it would live for a long time and he knew that he had been a part of its life and it made him proud.


...He did not know that Spring would follow Winter and that the snow would melt into water. He did not know that what appeared to be his useless dried self would join with the water and serve to make the tree stronger. Most of all, he did not know that there, asleep in the tree and the ground were already plans for new leaves in the Spring. And that was The Beginning..."




This story just hit me as such a good reminder that we truly don't know when it will be our time. Sometimes I feel that determination like Freddie did...that I won't let myself die, when in reality, just like Freddie, I have no say in when 'my time' is. I pray that I am one that simply lets go. I pray that when my time comes I am comfortable and secure in the fact that I am going to a better place to worship with my King! How neat it will be to finally see the 'big picture'!!! I love the analogy of the tree and the leaves and fertilization that happens. I think this is very much the case in our lives. I see how my Grandma influenced myself and so many others and how she made a huge impact on the world that came after her. She laid the ground work for so many of us to follow.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a child who is facing a permanent loss in their lives!