by Soo-Inn Tan | Jul 18, 2025 | 2025, Death & Grief, Family
Do dogs go to heaven? We ask again because we just bade goodbye to Toffee — our canine companion, the doggy member of the family — on Tuesday night. I had just come back from a conference in Bangkok the day before. Bernice was on the way back from...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Apr 17, 2025 | 2025, Afterlife, Aging, Death & Grief, Jesus' Death
Sometimes I think of a dear friend and it hits me afresh that that friend has passed away. Although we know that in the end death comes to all of us, it’s not a truth that we really “know”. We live as though we will live forever unless a debilitating...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Jan 17, 2025 | 2025, Death & Grief, Spiritual Friendship, Widowhood
Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve. — Dr. Earl A. Grollman Yesterday (15 Jan) I met up with a friend for coffee. He lost...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Sep 5, 2024 | 2024, Afterlife, Death & Grief, Hope
Last Saturday was nostalgia day. In the afternoon I had the privilege of speaking to a group of VCF (Varsity Christian Fellowship) alumni who were in college in the 1970s and ’80s. Shared some thoughts on leaving a legacy of faith. In the evening I was at a...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Apr 5, 2024 | 2024, Death & Grief, Hope, Jesus' Resurrection
I had the privilege of bringing the Easter sermon to a church we are close to last Sunday. Early in Holy Week I received news that a family in the community had lost a son. He had taken his own life. I struggled with how I should present the Easter sermon. I...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Nov 23, 2023 | 2023, Death & Grief, God's Will
Bernice and I lost our first spouses to cancer. They were outstanding followers of Christ and it would seem to make sense that they should have had many more years of ministry and parenting. But God had other ideas. These are times when divine logic is...
