1 John 1:7 “The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin”
It had to be the hottest day of July when my former sister-in-law, my only biological daughter and one of nieces went to visit the grave of their unknown family member. My biological daughter learned at 13 years old that she had a sister through her dad and on the same day learned that her sister had lost her battle with addiction.
We walked together to meet with the mother of this estranged family member and to view the tombstone and take flowers. The heat was palpable and became a metaphor for the heaviness of the grief each of us carried. Swiping sweat away from our brows, we offered condolences to the hurting mother. The mother of the girl we didn’t know fought back emotions as she noticed the resemblance between my daughter and hers.
Our visit was brief, and as we walked away, I began to think about the power of blood. The shedding of blood has kept our nation free. Blood transfusions save lives; excessive loss of blood takes lives. Blood unites family members we have never met and ancestors we can only imagine.
In our blended home, we call everyone sister or family, despite the issue of blood. Yet no one can deny that we mourn the loss of someone we never knew simply because we share the blood. All of this had me thinking about the most important bloodshed of all. It is the precious blood of Jesus changes hearts and saves souls from eternal hell. While there is an importance regarding our bloodlines, there is a more important bloodline.
I continue to pray about how to navigate my daughter through a loss she cannot explain. I know that it can be traced back to the power of blood. At the end of the day, I also know that the blood that matters the most is the blood of Jesus. I can only hope and pray that this is the blood that gives her comfort. It unites each of us who believe in him and his sacrifice.