by Pennee Struckman

Created on: December 20, 2009

Physical death is an end we all share. There is no escaping it. We can practice healthy lifestyle choices, and prolong this life, but we will all die. It is a certainty. 

Death, however, can also occur while our physical life continues. The death of innocence is a terrible event, when all that we believed or held dear suddenly disappears. We are left alone and empty. The death of a dream can devastate us, enveloping us in a wasteland, where we wander, in search of hope and renewed vision. The death of someone we love can wound our souls, and we must cope with the severe loss and our own mortality. 

We search for meaning and purpose. We look for signs of life after physical death. We fear death, because we know that eventually, death will come for us. Physical death is the way of life. To each of us, to each generation, there is a time to live, and a time to die. Since the beginning of time, this had been the order of life. 

But the death of the body is different than the death of the soul. When our body is done, and we die, we still live in the spirit. Our spirit, our soul, lives on and moves into eternity. Whether we spend eternity with God, or wandering in the darkness, we are still alive. It is not the life we have known in this physical realm, but it is life nonetheless. 

Spiritual death is a choice, and one we do not all share. When the innocence is gone, or the dream evaporates, hopelessness settles on us. We cry out to God for answers. Sometimes He is silent, because for now there are no answers. But God offers comfort and solace in our loneliness. He extends His hand through others. 

If we, in our grief, turn away, refusing to grasp the hand of hope, we die spiritually. And that is choice, not fate. Because eternity waits for death to release us into its care, we should choose carefully how we live this physical life. The life we now live is just a shadow of the hope and beauty to come. Life is precious, a gift, and it is our responsibility to live with hope and faith. Since we have assurance that death is common to us all, it is important to practice kindness and compassion towards mankind. This is also a choice. This choice will determine our fate after death.

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