The Quiet Weight of Absence
When a parent is missing, there is a void in the life of a child. But often, there is an even larger, heavier hole in the heart of the spouse. Children feel the absence in moments—birthdays, ballgames, graduations, bedtime prayers. They feel it when they look into the stands or wait for a familiar voice that never comes. Yet for the spouse, the absence is constant. It settles into the quiet hours, the empty side of the bed, the decisions that once were shared, and the loneliness that arrives when the house finally grows still. Loss does not always announce itself loudly. More often, I have seen it whisper—through routine, responsibility, and resilience. A widow or widower must carry grief while still carrying life forward. There are meals to cook, bills to pay, children to raise, and faith to hold onto when strength feels thin. Scripture speaks directly into this reality. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their time of t...