Beauty in Grief

My mom said something today that really struck me. She was telling me about the funeral of her coworker's son that she went to recently. The boy was 20 years old, he was kind, loving; he had his whole life ahead of him. All the usual cliches, but it was true that he was something special. My mother said that her coworker, in the midst of grief, had never looked so beautiful. She was radiant. Then, the thing that struck me: "It's almost as though in the times of immense grief, your soul, your spirit shines through." Interesting thought, at least I thought so. I do believe in God; I do believe in the afterlife; and I do believe that that young man is in Heaven where he belongs.