O Death where is thy sting...we feel it. I think it's completely okay and wonderfully honest to admit that while we do take hope in knowing that death is not the end of our story, it doesn't mean we're happy to send a loved one off into the unknown. Surely God understand this of us. I read recently (Lauren Winner's Mudhouse Sabbath) that there's this beautiful Jewish tradition of a mourning process - the person is given a whole year to move through their grief. Not that grief is over in a year, but I wonder how much better it is than trying to motor through Normal Life when you've lost someone you love. 

Another thing I read, a long time ago, was something that Catherine Marshall wrote. Her husband died unexpectedly and soon after she had a dream of him, working in a rose garden. She got the sense that he was trying to acclimate himself to this new place of heaven - and I really love that idea. A sort of inbetween place to let go of your human self, if need be, in order to make the transition to whatever glory there is for us with God. It must hurt to think that your loved one has moved on without you, that there's this one sided missing for those who are left behind. 

And I, too, believe wholeheartedly in the power of prayer, and that God will provide comfort for these little girls. It's still so sad and unfair, though.