Two Kinds of Tears

I have never blogged from my phone. Don't know if it works or not. We'll see.

Today was my Aunt Millie's funeral. We spent last night greeting friends and family members. We shed a few tears.

Today, we said goodbye. I cried.

But I realized something as I was sitting there, crying.

As sad as I was about my aunt dying, I was doing some "delayed" mourning for my friend, Beth. Death always makes me sad. Seeing people mourn is difficult.

I played for a funeral a few weeks ago. I was sad for this family - but not knowing the man, I was somewhat able to detach myself from the grief.

Today - not so much. I grieved. And it was *my* grief.

But I have hope. And, as the pastor said today, death without hope is just that...hope-less. Death with hope means sadness, yes. But it also means rejoicing. It means that we acknowledge that we will, and do miss them...but we will see them again - someday.

And that is why, though I shed tears - they were not hopeless, sorrowful tears. They were....different.

. . .I still lost all my mascara, though.