THE BLOG

One of the cultural phenomena of our day is gender reveal parties. A whole industry has been spawned out of pregnant couples’ desire, not simply to know the gender of their expected child, but to make a big production out of announcing to family and friends what the gender is. A quick Google of “gender reveal” will generate a bounty of websites ready to give suggested themes, props, games, and food treat ideas to make the reveal as elaborate and creative as a couple desires. When I think of today’s gender reveal functions, I cannot help but smile when I think of the gender reveal function my wife and I attended for both of our girls 40+ years ago. The occasion was childbirth, the location was a sterile delivery room, and the gender reveal was an announcement by the obstetrician when he said, “Congratulations, it’s a girl.”

In a classic B.C. cartoon, The Cute Chick approaches The Fat Broad and asks, “What are you thankful for this year?” The Fat Broad, stirring a big pot over an open fire, shouts, “Are you kidding? Who has time to think about that on Thanksgiving?” While the humor of that cartoon brings a smile to our faces, with their dialogue, cartoonist Johnny Hart hits upon an irony of life.

One of my companions in life, especially during my 41 years of ministry, has been grief. Some grief I’ve experienced up close and personal, while much of it I’ve encountered while walking with individuals and families through a loss in their lives. Grief is the emotional coping mechanism God has built within us to help deal with loss of anything important to us.