Digging Deeper: A Letter from the President
1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Genesis 23:1-2 (NLT)
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
We have spent this week focusing on the difficult subject of grief, specifically how Abraham processed the passing of his wife, Sarah. I would like to talk about another Abraham, though. This man was no stranger to grief. He lost his mother when he was just a nine-year-old boy, his sister died 10 years later during childbirth, and he himself would later lose two sons to illness before they reached the age of 12. I am referring to Abraham Lincoln, one of the most well-versed people on the subject of grief in the public eye.
Lincoln’s second son, Edward, died at the age of 4 from tuberculosis. He then lost his son, Willie, to typhoid fever. Willie passed during Lincoln’s time as president in 1862. Elizabeth Keckly, a former slave who had been hired as Mrs. Lincoln’s Chief Wardrobe Designer, recounted Willie’s passing and said that Lincoln stood at the end of his bed, staring at his body moments after. She said the president stood “in silent, awe-stricken wonder…the genius and greatness weeping over love’s idol lost.”
Lincoln was no stranger to loss, in other words. It is the reason he was hesitant to let his eldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, serve during the Civil War. He was afraid he would lose him too. He eventually relented but assigned Robert as an assistant to General Grant, thereby guaranteeing he would be kept close to Grant and out of harm’s way to whatever degree possible.
It would make sense, then, for Lincoln to be a qualified grief counselor in some sense after having so much practice himself. Also in 1862, a good friend of his named William McCullough was killed in battle, further devastating Lincoln. He penned a letter to the surviving daughter of McCullough, named Fanny. In the letter, Lincoln says, “In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it. I am anxious to afford some alleviation of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible, except with time.”
Lincoln’s letter echoes the lessons we have studied repeatedly this week. We will all experience trouble, and the time to process and mourn is necessary (Genesis 23:1-2); we need to accept help in our times of need and offer it to those struggling around us when we can (Galatians 6:2, Proverbs 17:17); and we are reminded by Paul to look out for each other, not just ourselves (Philippians 2:4).
When we face challenges, our task is to persevere in the faith to receive what is promised to us (Hebrews 10:36), relying on God’s word to guide us. Lincoln called the Bible “the best gift God has given to man.” So heed our weary past president’s words and cling tightly to Scripture. Our hope is in Christ, no matter what we are facing. For He told us that “…in this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Lee Wilson and his wife, Deanna, have been NorthStar Church members since 2010. They are parents to Everett, Henry and Roselyn. Lee is passionate about sports (Go Braves, Go Dawgs) and has the pleasure to serve on the worship team as a bassist.