Death is a friend — not something to dread and fear. In our sorrow, there is One we can trust. We may trust the Holy One. Death comes under His jurisdiction.

​I have given much thought to death because I have spent a lot of time with grieving families in funeral homes and cemeteries. I have gone there hundreds of times for graveside services and the burial of dear ones loved by family and respected in the community. Always, this is an act of faith — never an empty ritual.

​In such moments, we discover “heaven-faith” is for real, offering us strong comfort. I have personally experienced God’s comfort in my grief. I believe in the Most High God and in heaven. And I believe we “adventure” faith to a wholly different kind of existence beyond this earthly life.

​”Heaven-faith” teaches us to wait upon the Lord. To wait upon the Lord is to do everything I can to manage my grief in the near term and to trust God for the long term.

This is an excerpt from The Grief Letter: Buhler, Fran: 9781981978137: Books – Amazon

Fran Buhler

In 1993 on the staff of a flagship church in Florida’s capital city, Fran Buhler started sending an annual letter to members with a death in their family during that year. Recipients began calling it “the grief letter”. In the 21 years Buhler served as Associate Pastor and Director of Ministry, he received more comments and notes of appreciation for “the grief letter” than any single thing he has done in ministry --- except a short sermon! Now “the grief letter” has become a full-length book, titled: “The Grief Letter”. ​

More Articles Written by Fran