Too Soon to Die!

July brings the best of summer heat waves that flash and spark bright across peaceful star-soaked skies. This year, July announces the Independence, freedom and promise for a troubled country caught in a new world of difficulties.

Some of you may remember as a child, the joy & wonderment of watching the night sky explode in brilliant color and sound as a nation endeavored to build a country of peace, prosperity and compassion for all. The world seems very different today but as serious as times are, there are those among us who have known far greater suffering than social inconveniences or ‘lock-down’.

Memories that bring great joy for most of us, may bring searing pain for those who have suffered the loss of a child. Indeed the hassles of today’s experiences pale by comparison to the death of a loved one. Especially those who by all rational thinking should have had a fuller and much longer life.
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As I reflect on the passing of so many amid the current pandemic I am painfully aware of how quickly and cruelly life can turn and I am confronted with a question that has been posed to me many times over the course of my work in Ministry and Mediumship and frequently over the past few months. 

“Why would a loving God take my child”? 
​“Why does God take someone so young”?

My clients look to me for answers that I must surely have but too often I am left diminished and stunned, frozen like a deer caught in the headlights on a dark country road.  The question of course is deeply philosophical and there may be no reasonable or rational answer for anyone in the throes of grief.

I lost my mom when I was twelve.  She was just thirty-nine.  It was a long time ago but many years later I am still asking why she had to go.  The anger I felt then, is as real today. Unlike many of my clients, however, I have not lost a child but I do feel their pain and their confusion. The mere contemplation of such an unimaginable loss leaves me torn to the core. 
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I have heard all of the reasonings that are commonly thrown around and have even used a few of them myself in a somewhat feeble effort to comfort the bereaved – especially when a child or a young person has been lost.  “God needed another angel”, “Only the good die young”, “Better to go young and avoid the suffering of old age” and one that irks me the most, “It was their time”.

The truth is that no one has all the answers except an all-knowing God. ​

I may bring evidence of a continued life beyond this one but the reasons why a life is seemingly cut so short is beyond our knowing - perhaps even beyond our limited ability to comprehend.

Handling this type of question can’t always be a philosophical or theological exposé so in my limited humanness I will always try to  show my humanity, my vulnerable heart and my empathy for their pain. Then I find strength in my faith and in spirit. I trust that life goes on. I rely on the intelligence of the Spirit world and the love that waltzes so powerfully close to God and the Holy Spirit! 

Today I can say with confidence that mediumistic life is not about the dead but more importantly it is about carrying the message of God’s love to the living in order to release them from the depths of misunderstanding and suffering.  My commitment is to show them how God loves us all and to comfort and encourage them to live this life well in respect for those they’ve lost who live on in a world of love. 

But to get Philosophical …..

No one knows the day or the hour of passing, at least not exactly, but no life is too short and no life is too long. There are no wasted lives.

The pain and tragedy of the loss of both young and old often seems to offer no reason, no purpose. Whether it is an innocent child or a curmudgeon centenarian, the love of God is not lost on anyone who traverses this difficult lifetime.  Every life holds meaning.

Every life touches the lives of others and affects the evolution of everyone with whom they interact, no matter who they are, what they were like or what they did.  They may have been reverent men & women of the cloth or they may have served time for harsh crimes. Regardless, it is imperative to understand and embrace the truth that all lives hold sacredness and each harbors the holiness of spirit – even if we may not recognize or acknowledge it right away.

Life, however brief, brings forth its abundance of joys and pains and reveals the nature and varied textures of God’s eternal law and Infinite intelligence. ​​

We are responsible for our own choice of peace in as much as it demands our compassion and caring for others.

Every soul’s journey is significant and the responsibility is ours to live and live well with love for all. Some decide to take darker paths but they do so at great cost. Within the suffering and calamity of life, however, there is love. There is no unnecessary pain. The ebbs and flows of pain in this life mold and shape us. They define and enrich us. They encourage our connections and insist upon our generosity. They entice us to seek truth and move us to discover the 

preciousness of all life so that we may evolve to a more spiritual family. The preciousness of life becomes more evident to each of us as we begin to enlighten and align our thoughts with the creator’s love for all of us. ​​

Why then do children die? Why do people leave this world before their time and leave the rest of us shattered and in despair? ​

​My response as medium is – we do NOT die. Life is continuous and remains precious beyond the change called death. The amount of time spent in this world however long or short is intrinsic to the texture of creation itself. However brief the physical intimacies and experiences of this world may be, they are the key to the lock of the wisdom of love and a continuous life together forever.

We may be individual Spirits but our souls beat with a singular heartbeat that frames God’s consciousness. It is there that we are driven, challenged and called to care deeply for each other.  Those who suffer the greatest losses in this life are the measure of courage, the embodiment of truth and a light of heaven’s gates.  They teach us all to love.

God never takes a child away, he gives them to the rest of us in love. ​

He holds them high, to be noticed, to be cherished, grieved and remembered so that all of us may draw closer to love.

You may think that I am chiding these lost children as unfortunate sacrificial lambs but you would be wrong. The children are not taken or sacrificed. They are our blessing, healing, our call and our most precious gift. So if you have a child in heaven or a loved one who passed too soon, please know we should all be reverent and grateful for their blessings and prayers for us all. If you have a child that is still here and you haven’t said "I Love you" today may I suggest there is no time like the present.

Thank you for allowing me to attempt to answer this most difficult question.
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Peace

Joe

© 2020 Joseph P. Shiel III

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