‘Do not grieve as those who have no hope’
Dale Kovar
HJ GENERAL MANAGER
This column fi rst appeared in Herald Journal’s
“Estate, Pre-planning, and Sympathy” section in
February. The full section is available online at
www.herald-journal.com. Click Online Edition and
scroll down into the complimentary publications.
Phone calls in the middle of the night are rarely a
good thing.
Death of a loved one is diffi cult to deal with. If it’s
sudden and unexpected, it’s such a shock. If it’s from
a prolonged disease, there’s time to say goodbye, but
it’s still tragic.
During the past year, our family experienced the
sudden variety, on the heels of a premature birth.
When we hosted all our kids and their families to-
gether at a cabin last summer, daughter Chelsea and
son-in-law Brian used the opportunity to announce
that another family member would be added to our
ranks.
We were all excited, and everything was going well
until one Saturday night in late October.
I had already stayed up way later than usual watch-
ing a World Series game. Linda was attending an
event with her sisters and returned home even later.
Then the fi rst call came. Chels and Brian were at
the hospital and it was possible labor could begin in
the next 24 hours.
About 20 minutes later, another call: a lot was hap-
pening and they’d keep us posted.
A few more minutes later: “You better come.”
By the time we got there, Peyton was born at 21
weeks, 3 days, being just nine inches long and 13.3
ounces. Within a few minutes, he died in Brian’s
arms.
Our pastor was able to come comfort everyone and
pray with us before Sunday services that morning.
Then we went about the unpleasant task of letting
other family members know.
Later it was back to the hospital where everyone
gathered again. The Star Legacy Foundation, a sup-
port organization for pregnancy loss, sent a represen-
tative – a young mom who had experienced the same
thing – for an extended photo shoot.
Part of the grieving – and healing – is the acknowl-
edgement and memories of what was, even as short
as it was.
My point, for a newspaper section about death, is
coping with death.
My go-to verse for death has become 1 st Thessa-
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MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
With income tax season now open, the Minnesota
Department of Revenue announced that more than 200
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income tax returns, and almost 57,000 property tax
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returns provided more than $133 million in federal, and
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Minnesotans can get help at a Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance (VITA) site if any of the following apply:
• The taxpayer is age 60 or older.
4
Senior
• The taxpayer is a person with a disability.
• The taxpayer speaks limited or no English.
• The taxpayer’s annual income is less than
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The AARP Tax-Aide program offers free tax
preparation for all Minnesotans, particularly those
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Free electronic fi ling is also available for
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Minnesotans will need to bring certain items
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information, banking information for direct
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of suggested items to bring to a tax preparation
site.
Connections March/April 2020
Peyton’s footprints (actual size
lonians 4 which reads in part “. . . do not grieve as
others do who have no hope.”
So what hope is there?
Jesus not only died for our sins; he took his life
back, overcoming death through his resurrection.
Scripture promises he will come for us again, at
which point we can spend eternity with him, if we
haven’t already chose the other option.
That chapter of Thessalonians also describes how
the dead believers will be resurrected, and then those
who are left will join them to meet the Lord in the air.
The hard part is waiting until then – a daily lesson in
patience.
When we lose a loved one, even one we only knew
for minutes, that is our hope – our only hope. But as
long and far off as it may seem, we also know it is
certain.
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