My condolences to you, Mark, and my empathy to all who are grieving, and who knew Gretchen so much better than I - even if it was just through one word - “Dose”.
After reading so many of the posts here, I wanted to leave the words of the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians. May it bring peace and hope to all who read it.
Christian
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage each other with these words.
That portion of scripture is unfortunately often just reserved for funerals and times such as these, but they are good words to read often & seal in your heart. Thanks for posting & sharing with us.