Visitation

We went to the visitation for Jo-jo tonight. The last visitation we went to we told the kids beforehand how we expected them to behave and we told them that if they wanted to see the body they could. Neither of them were interested last time. This time however, Daniel wanted to look. I was surprised, but I had told him beforehand that we didn't know if they would be showing the body because the man had died in an accident, so it may not be in good enough condition to show. I think that got his curiosity up, so he wanted to see him. Well, the funeral home did a pretty good job considering what they had to work with, but Jo-jo still didn't look very good. And he was my son's first body.

I was surprised by the questions he had for me though. They were thoughtful. He wanted to know why our bodies were left behind when we died. Good question. I couldn't say for sure. Maybe it's so that when we die, our families don't have to wonder what happened to us. After some thought, I guess it's because the truth is, if you believe the Bible, that we were made to always be in our bodies, but when Adam and Eve sinned, it brought death into the world. Death is therefore unnatural and so it is not really natural for us to be separated from our bodies. That is, it was not God's original plan for us. I guess what I'm saying is that it is part of the curse from the fall of man. Maybe that's why I feel so ill every time I see a body without a person inside. It's just so wrong. Daniel took it pretty well, he had several questions throughout the evening, but I can't think about what they were now. Daniel said more than once after the visitation how sad he was for Jo-jo, and he didn't seem to grasp that Jo-jo is fine now. He's with Jesus, it's his family that he left behind that we are sad for, because they will miss him terribly. Daniel's six. That's just not how he sees it. I'd better leave my bedroom door open tonight, in case he needs me.