Until We Meet Again

Introduction

As we go through life, we become aware of people dying. Young children, parents, old people—we all succumb to the same fate. Since losing our son, we have become sensitive to others who have experienced a similar loss. We have taken special note of how these families or individuals are coping. We read articles about family members who are struggling with their loss, even years after the occurrence of a traumatic event. They seem to obtain no relief as they wait for closure that somehow seems to elude them. Others are eaten up from within and their outlook on life becomes twisted. Then there are those who go into complete denial, declaring that they are just fine and do not need any help. Regardless, one thing is for sure—there is a dire need for the full restoration of such traumatised people.

How are we going to get out of this terrible situation? One of life’s greatest revelations is that we cannot make it without God and His love and grace for us. We have to take ourselves out of our own keeping and entrust ourselves to God’s keeping. Then we will be set free. This is where the challenge lies—we tend to default towards trying to save ourselves through our own efforts. Only when we are exhausted by our futile struggles and frustrated by getting nowhere, do we realise that we need to run to God.

My main reason for writing this book is not only to testify about God’s love, grace, and restoring power, but also to inspire and encourage you, who have lost a loved one. You too can be delivered from the dark grip pain, blame, anger, denial, or lack of forgiveness and be fully restored by such a loving God. If God did that for us, He will certainly do it for you. I am not making light of your trauma, but things will look so different when you know that God, not only can, but will see you and your loved ones through to victory! This happens when you let go and just rest, allowing Him to be the Daddy to you that He so desires to be.

I would like to encourage you to let God change your thinking as you go through this book, so that your thoughts will begin to flow the way He thinks about you and your situation. We must remember that the mind is a battlefield; what we do with our thoughts and words will determine our defeat or victory.

God made each one of us unique, to which, for instance, our particular fingerprints testify. Therefore, our testimonies are unique. Maybe you are a single father who has lost a daughter, a husband who has lost a wife, or a brother who has lost a sister. The particulars don’t really matter because you will be able to identify with our situation and extrapolate wisdom for your specific circumstances by following the godly principles described. These will stop you from landing in potholes as you travel along the road of life. However, I do not, for one second, claim this book to be a treatise on all the known aspects of trauma experienced by a family that has lost a child.

With God’s grace, you will be able to apply the principles laid out in this book and discipline your mind to think differently. This is called right believing and it will restore your life. Satan, who is the enemy of your soul, will try to control your mind with his destructive thoughts. The choice is yours—the truth will set you free!

Until We Meet Again is designed to be applied, not just read. I would like to suggest, as you go through this book, that you write down in a personal notebook any passages that apply to your situation and points that make you think in new ways. Read slowly; at times, you may have to stop and think about a specific idea or passage. Pray and ask God to help you change your thinking as you go along.

You will see, in various parts of the book, the words, “Reflect on this,” followed by one or more numbered questions. Please consider these questions, preferably by writing your answers in your own notebook. You can even add new questions and find answers to them. This will slow you down and enable you to make even more progress than you would have by reading alone. Read the verses provided and meditate on them by rolling them over in your mind and saying them out loud repeatedly. You will notice that “new thoughts” become rooted in your mind through the Holy Spirit. As you enter the battlefield of the mind, the obstacles of anxiety, despair, and fear that the enemy has planted will begin to disappear.

I would like to inspire you from the start of your journey with this book, to make up your mind to rely completely on God’s grace to take you right through. If you wish to receive the prize, you will have to finish the race.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you as you meditate on what is written in this book and reveal to you the truth of the Word of God that will set you free.