FREEDOM

 It's natural to be sad as we say our 'goodbye' to a loved one who has died. But letting such sadness direct our subsequent life is to deny that death, rather than an end, is the beginning of a new phase of existence.

Vera Lynn, back in the war years, used to sing "We'll meet again - don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day."

The singer was referring to the expectation of sweethearts being reunited when the war ended, but surely she also meant a reunion in heaven in the event of death - death being an ever-present threat during those turbulent years.

Sadness after a death is natural for a while, but if we can focus on the freedom being experienced by our loved one - who has perhaps been released from a pain wracked body - we can, I'm sure, before too long feel glad in the knowledge that our shared love lives on.