Praying for Dan

At Dan’s funeral, the pastor that gave the message said that he will pray for Julia and for Audrey, but not for Dan since he has gone to be with God and therefore is well taken care of. This more or less reflected my own views on the matter as well, and most of my thoughts since the tragedy concerned his family that remained here on earth. It was comforting to think that Dan hadn’t ceased to exist, but that only his earthly body had been destroyed while Dan’s soul persisted, or perhaps even existed in a more perfect way since it was now reunited with its creator. I have told Yuna pretty much this myself, and always made a point of correcting her whenever she said “Dan is dead” (which she said a lot, at completely random times; I think she knows that it is still very much in the minds of the parents). I would always correct her "no, Dan's body is dead".


But upon further reflection (or “musings”, as my friend Nicole would label them), I find the notion that Dan is currently happy and is in some peaceful and perfect place to be troubling and unsatisfactory. First of all, I have to assume that the soul continues to exist in a state of awareness and consciousness, and is not in some way “hibernating”. Otherwise, in what sense is the soul continuing its existence if it were somehow turned “off”, only to be turned back on at some later time? And if Dan’s soul is aware and conscious currently, I have to hazard a guess that it is NOT currently happy or at peace. On the contrary, I would imagine it to be in a state of sadness or even anger at what’s happened. How can his soul be resting in peace if he sees the sadness that Julia and family are going through, or the fact that he will not be an active part of the life of his young daughter? It is inconceivable to me that a loving father (Dan) can be happy and at peace or anything less than furious and in despair if he is separated from his wife and daughter for the remainder of their earthly lives.

No, I have to reconsider, and respectfully disagree with the proposition offered by the pastor at Dan’s funeral; I will also pray for Dan, that he will find comfort with God and that he will eventually find acceptance and peace (if not “understanding” since I can’t possibly imagine what that looks like). Julia and Audrey need practical help here amongst us, now and on a daily basis as they struggle to adjust their lives and grapple with this sudden and immense vacuum in their lives. But I have to believe that Dan, looking at us from his current place also needs our prayer and that God will comfort him just as we pray that God will comfort Julia and Audrey.