Death...and Love

Leave it to J.K. Rowling and her Dumbledore character to cut straight to my heart.  I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  I was a little skeptical of reading a play about Harry Potter, but it turns out I didn't mind at all.  And it brought those years of anxiously awaiting the newest book in the series, the characters, and the story all back to life.

A lot happens in this story, which I won't reveal for those of you who are planning to read it.  (And if you aren't, you should.  And if you haven't ever read Harry Potter, you really should!!)  But the line that stood out to me was this, DUMBLEDORE: "Those that we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch.  Paint...and memory...and love."  Thanks Dumbledore, for putting my thoughts into perfect words.

Death seems to take so much from us...it can take the person we love most in the world...it can leave us full of regret, loss, sadness, despair.  It can turn our world into a dark and gloomy place.  But death can never take away love.  Sometimes, in fact, death intensifies love.  We don't stop loving someone because they died.  We continue loving them, and we hold them in our heart.  And over time, our memories bring comfort rather than pain.  It will never be quite enough...it will never be the same...but the love never fades.