Dear Digital Neighbors I am preparing for a funeral this morning and thinking of how I often approach the Divine. My faith is in the Healer of Souls, and my expression of that in creed & worship is Roman Catholicism. Today's funeral is one touched with more sorrow than most. Samantha (Sam) was only 31 years old and her lived ended so early because of the experience with postpartum depression.

If anyone understands the darkness of suicide, the distortion chamber that depression is, it is the Healer of Souls. Sometimes His light is powerful enough to break through the darkness and other times it is not. It makes it very difficult for Disciples when loved one fall to the power of depression and see death as the only means of ending their exile from self. An all powerful, all loving and all good Deity ought to be able to break through such things, and the framing of respecting free-will and invitations to trust and patiently accept often break many struggling Disciples. The problem of evil is one of the most persistent arguments for those who walk away from organized religion and all of its trials.

My words to Sam's family will be one of encouraging them to seek Jesus, the Healer of Souls. My invitation to them is to hold each other lovingly and patiently and eventually surrender the sorrow, pain and confusion to Him as they move through this experience of loss. There will be many questions that will remain unanswered and their eventual ability to release them to God, the great unknown or just humble acceptance of the reality will determine how their future unfold. Feelings may not be reality, but powerful dark ones can overshadow our ability to see and live in the light of life.

I will encourage them to remember Sam in her vibrancy of life and all the things she loved in life. Those things were the real and true experiences of her life. Depression was the lie and distortion. Depression was the thief robbing her of joy and hope. Depression is real, but its lies are not. If you are the praying type, your prayers for her and her family are appreciated. Please lift her up to the Healer of Souls. Please pray for Christian her husband, their three children Lyra, Roselia & Lucia. Please remember her parents, Barry & Karen, and her brothers Dane and Max. Peace my friends, and thank you for reading this and remembering them.

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/26025747/samantha-renee-grandon