Death

by Kirstin Tatagiri on July 20, 2026

It wasn’t supposed to be this way -

death, I mean.

It wasn’t supposed to be expected

this thing we never expect but are forced

to meet.

A slashing of time spent

with a dear one, hearing their last

breath.

There wasn’t supposed to be an end

to laughter and life.

Every time death comes I feel shocked -

I know it will come but it’s jarring,

unnatural because

it is.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

…

A friend lost her mom over the weekend. My heart hurts for her, and it made me consider how death was never supposed to be part of our story.

We were never supposed to say goodbye, to be caught on one side of eternity while those we love move to the other side.

But sin entered the world, and now death is expected, even though we never really learn how to expect it, because we were never meant to meet it.

The hope of the cross is so sweet in the face of death. To know that we have hope, that we do not grieve as those who have no hope, as 1 Thessalonians reminds us.

Share Jesus today. Somehow, someway. People need His hope, even if they don’t know it.

(Kirstin is a new NWN writer and attends Gateway Community Church. You can find more of her writings on Substack at https://bit.ly/KirstinTMM)