When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
--Mary Oliver [from her poem When Death Comes]
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
--Mary Oliver [from her poem When Death Comes]
Mary Oliver’s poem reminds us to embrace life deeply, not skimming its surface or leaving it unfinished.
As Christ followers, Peter challenges us to live with the perspective of temporary residents—aliens and strangers in this world. We are citizens of heaven, journeying through a foreign land. But this truth doesn’t call us to disengage from the world; instead, it compels us to live fully within God’s plan for His creation.
We are not passive visitors but active participants in His divine purpose. Our lives become “particular and real” when we embody service and love to others, reflecting God’s heart.
Let’s walk through our days intentionally, not fearing the end of our earthly journey but embracing the peace that comes from fulfilling our God-given purpose.
As Christ followers, Peter challenges us to live with the perspective of temporary residents—aliens and strangers in this world. We are citizens of heaven, journeying through a foreign land. But this truth doesn’t call us to disengage from the world; instead, it compels us to live fully within God’s plan for His creation.
We are not passive visitors but active participants in His divine purpose. Our lives become “particular and real” when we embody service and love to others, reflecting God’s heart.
Let’s walk through our days intentionally, not fearing the end of our earthly journey but embracing the peace that comes from fulfilling our God-given purpose.
Where are you most at risk of missing God’s mission for you today?
Restore Curriculum Additional Resources
Devotions and Journals
- A Time To Heal: A Grief Journal by Beth Marshall
- GriefShare Daily Devotion Emails
- Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman and Jim Reimann
- God’s Promises for Your Every Need by Jack Countryman and A.L. Gill
- Breath as Prayer: Calm Your Anxiety, Focus Your Mind, and Renew Your Soul by Jennifer Tucker and Ann Voskamp
General Grief
- Experiencing Grief by H. Norman Wright
- Let Me Grieve, But Not Forever by Verdell Davis
- A Season of Grief by Ann Dawson
- A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss by Jerry L. Sittser
- Unimaginable Loss… Godly Transformation: During the Age of Covid A Grief Journey & Journal by K. Joyner
- Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief by David Kessler
Helping Children Grieve