Just a Body?

  In light of a recent loss, there’s something I feel should be addressed. When someone passes, whether they’re buried or cremated, there’s a phrase that almost always gets said: “It’s not really them; just their body.” I’m a Christian, so I definitely understand the whole “body becomes part of the earth, while spirit goes on to the afterlife”.  I get that. However, some people don’t really understand how callous that phrase may sound, even if it’s said with the best of intentions. Something people don’t seem to think of is exactly WHAT that body represented.

  To the grieving children and grandchildren of the deceased, that body brought them into this world. It was what they snuggled up to late at night when the thunder was too loud, or the dark was just too much to handle. Those hands brushed your hair before school in the morning. They gently applied a band-aid to that scrape on your knee that hurt so badly! You hid behind those legs as a shy child as your mother awkwardly tried to introduce you. You sat high up above everyone else on those shoulders. You played “horsey” as a toddler on that back.

  To the heartbroken spouse, that body was what you held at night while you slept, breathing in their scent. You held those hands any chance you got; be it driving in the car, walking through the grocery store, or even just vegging out on the couch at home. That body carried the children that the two of you created out of love. That chest was where you laid your head at night, just to enjoy the sound of their heartbeat. Those were the eyes that you fell in love with, and the lips you kissed every day.

I don’t mean to complain, but I do understand that there is very little that can be said to ease the ache of a heart grieving a loved one’s death. Just keep in mind the memories that are tied to that “body” laid out for final respects and viewing.