jenx67, thanks for saying that you find my posts provocative. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing stuff that will end up turning everyone off—it's too "religious" for non-religious people, and has too much doubt for people who believe. (I guess this is a big part of the whole Halfway to Normal concept, eh?) 

Blackwasp19, I really appreciate the way you wrote about death here—that it *should* be hard. I often feel guilty for not being able to say or embrace those things that we've been told are a part of our Christian culture (ie: Jesus called her home, it was her time to go, she's joyfully singing with the angels, etc.). You're absolutely right—the joy and comfort we claim is not in heaven, specifically, but in a God that's able to redeem even something as horrible as death. Thanks for sharing a new way to think about that, and for mourning with me.