Every fall, when the green trees of summer turn into barren branches, I always think of my sister, Bonnie, who passed away in November, some years ago. The afternoon was gray and bleak as we stood at her graveside, and the trees all around us, clothed in black, seemed to be mourning with us. Her death felt so final. So permanent. Yet I knew if I returned there in the spring, those trees would be alive again, resurrected from the death of winter as the earth tilted back toward the sun’s life-giving warmth and light. The seasons serve as a reminder to me that Christ has conquered death. Like those trees, my sister Bonnie and other loved ones are still alive, awaiting the resurrection of their bodies at Christ’s return.
I sometimes wonder how Adam and Eve felt as the seasons changed from summer to fall to winter for the first time in their lives. God had said they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, and during the first autumn they were banned from the garden, they experienced death for the first time. But the trees weren’t dead, they were simply waiting for spring. Adam lived to be 930 years old, so he had many opportunities to witness the cycle of seasons, and to watch springtime conquer the death of winter again and again, bringing hope.
There have been several small “deaths” in my life recently, that have brought an end to seasons in my life that I have enjoyed. A favorite vacation spot was destroyed by a hurricane, ending our yearly vacations there. Health issues for us and our friends forced changes to activities we’ve enjoyed. Changes in leadership and worship at our church caused me to leave and seek fellowship and worship someplace else. These are just small examples, but they are representative of the losses we all experience many times over in this life. One season comes to an end, and it seems like death has won. But God isn’t surprised by change. He can create new life from our losses if we turn to Him in trust.
I’m reminded of the story in the Book of Acts, when Christians began to be persecuted after the death of their first martyr, Stephen. The close fellowship they had enjoyed in Jerusalem came to an end, and the young church was scattered. Yet the death of the Jerusalem church brought about the birth of new churches all over the known world. The Apostle Philip traveled to Samaria with the Good News, and “there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8). Death brought new life.
All three of the main characters in my newest novel, “All My Secrets,” face change after the death of the family patriarch. His wife Sylvia wrestles with grief and loss, and the changes his death have brought to her life. She is offered this advice: “Change is never easy, is it? . . . But it’s the only certainty in life. And I think you may find that the challenge of doing something new will help you move forward.” None of us enjoy having our lives turned upside down, yet change is natural from the time we leave the womb until life’s end. It’s difficult to embrace something new if we’re still clinging to the old, becoming bitter about what we’ve lost. But as Sylvia will learn, the best path through grief is to accept the challenge of doing something new, allowing God to reshape us, and make us stronger. Death is not the end of the story. We can wait in hope that God will bring renewed life—perhaps in surprising ways—as we turn to His warmth and light.
