Where Is Thy Sting?

Oh, Death, where is thy sting? For those left behind, it is everywhere. Because of my faith, I know that my loved ones are experiencing a glory that cannot be compared to the sufferings of this present time and for that, I have joy. However, for me, it is as though I own a mansion with many rooms and each time a person is gone, it is like a room gets permanently sealed off. The light will never come back on. The windows are shuttered and we can never go back and experience the joy we felt in that room and no new memories will be made in that room. My house has lost several rooms in the past few months and it keeps getting smaller! I just cried last Monday over the loss I experienced in April and - unexpectedly - and just last Thursday, another light was permanently extinguished, another door sealed off. If I didn't know God, know Christ, this would be too much for me to withstand. I now completely understand why there are hermits, and old recluses. They cut themselves off from everyone so they don't have to experience the pain of caring for, loving, enjoying someone's presence, only to have them gone without notice. It takes a piece of your heart away.
I would love to shield my children from this. I would love to just pack my family up and take them deep into the woods so that we don't have to see anyone, so that we can be distant from them and avoid the sorrow when it comes time to lose another loved one.

To my friends and family, I apologize that sometimes I don't communicate. It's so much easier to hear all the great things about someone at their funeral and think, "I wish I had gotten to know them better," and leave knowing a small nightlight is gone from your hallway, than to truly know and love how great they were and feel a chunk of your heart gone.
I understand that God has a plan for each of us, on Earth as well as in Heaven. I know He calls  people when they have fulfilled their purpose here, or when He can better use them in the spiritual realm, but why can't we still talk to them? Or at least why can't I talk to them? Why can't I send them a text message just to say, "Hey," and get a quick response back?
That's where faith comes in. It is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Because of my faith, I know that I will see them again and it will feel like we just saw each other yesterday. Because of my faith, I will take time to grieve in order to release these emotions back to God, but I will know that I will get better, that I will go on. I know that my "mansion" will continue to have more rooms sealed off, but that more rooms will also be added, perhaps even another wing or two. :-)
It stings now, but these wounds will heal with the passage of time and for that, I am grateful and will continue to have joy and peace.

I May Be Criticized For This, But...

I have an issue with a recent CNN story I read about the parents of a first grader filing a complaint (I don't think it's a lawsuit yet) against a school district alleging gender discrimination.

The article talks about a child who was born with male body parts, but as a toddler started identifying as a female. The parents decided they wanted the child to be happy so they let the child continue to identify as a female. The picture of the child with the article shows what appears to be a little girl with purple hair and wearing a dress. The complaint is based on the fact that the child was previously able to do everything in school as a girl, but recently the parents were told that the child can no longer use the girls restroom. Quote from the parents, "We were very confused because everything was going so well, and they had been so accepting, and all of a sudden it changed and it was very confusing and very upsetting because we knew that, by doing that, she was going to go back to being unhappy" 

I have many thoughts/opinions/possibly judgments (I have to tell you the truth) about this situation - mostly about the parents. First of all, I would not be comfortable with my first grade daughter walking in the girls restroom and accidentally seeing the private parts of a boy. I believe this is a big part of the issue the school is probably dealing with. It's one thing if you have siblings of the opposite sex and you happen to see them naked - it's another thing when it comes to strangers - whether you're a child or an adult. I actually went back and watched the video and felt kind of bad for the parents (because my initial question was if part of the problem was them over-indulging their child - but again, I was being judgmental), but I especially felt bad for the child who was there and had to hear all of this! If your child was depressed at the age of three, wouldn't it make sense to shelter them from situations where they may feel as though an entire school district hates them? Why should this child (and apparently the couple's other kids) be there during the press conference? Reporters always ask crazy questions. This is just exposure to another emotional roller-coaster. 

The last thing I'm going to say about the whole issue is this: I was born black. If I had decided when I was a toddler that I was white, should I have been able to be treated as a white person the rest of my life? Come on, we all know the truth, yes, everyone is supposed to be treated equally, regardless of race, but everyone is not treated equally. I can make a phone call right now to anyone in corporate America and they will have no idea that I am black, but the moment I meet them in person, I will see the flash of surprise/shock cross their face. My point is, being black is a biological fact for me. I can't do any manner of bleaching my skin, straightening my hair, or changing my accent, that will make me white, Asian, or anything else - someone (actually, most people) will see me for who I am. What if my parents had decided to let me identify as a white person? Would I have a better life now? Heck No! I would be all the way confused and jacked up! My life would be absolutely miserable because I would never understand why everybody else does not see me the way I want them to see me. 

I realize these issues are slightly different, but are they really? I'm confused and frustrated. Guess what? This world isn't fair and no matter what we do, it never will be. This is earth, not heaven. Every person in this world looks at someone, or something and wishes their life could be different in some way, but it doesn't work like that.

Please share your opinions with me because I am struggling with my feelings about this issue. I don't want to be "unloving" or hateful, but I truly would like to understand this better.