Eternity
My 3 Strands for Eternity
You. Your Loved One. God.
A relationship changed by death, but held forever in faith, hope, and love.
When someone you love dies, life changes.
The chair is empty.
The familiar voice is gone.
The phone no longer rings.
Holidays feel different.
Ordinary moments can suddenly bring memories rushing back.
Grief is real because love is real.
At My 3 Strands, we believe that death changes the way we experience a relationship, but does not erase the love, faith, hope, memories, prayers, and spiritual connection that remain.
There is still a third strand:
You
Your Loved One
God
And there are still three spiritual gifts:
Faith. Hope. Love.
The My 3 Strands for Eternity materials describe grief as the pain of physical absence while holding a faith-filled hope that the relationship has changed, but has not simply become meaningless or forgotten.
Life Does Not End; It Changes
Christian faith looks at death differently.
Death is painful because someone we treasure is no longer physically present with us.
But our hope is in Jesus Christ, who died and rose again.
My 3 Strands for Eternity expresses that hope in a simple phrase:
Life does not end; it changes.
We cannot see our loved one in the same way.
We cannot reach across a room and touch them.
We cannot hear their voice as we once did.
But we can remember.
We can give thanks.
We can love.
We can pray.
And we can entrust them to God.
Three Persons Remain in the Relationship
Before death, you may have thought of the relationship as:
You + Your Loved One
My 3 Strands invites you to remember the third Person who was always there:
God.
So even in grief, we remember:
You + Your Loved One + God
God knew the person you loved before you did.
God was present throughout that person’s life.
God was present in the relationship you shared.
And now, Christian hope entrusts that person into the fullness of God’s eternal life.
The relationship is different.
But God remains the unbreakable strand.
Three Gifts for the Journey of Grief
Faith. Hope. Love.
When someone dies, these three gifts take on a new meaning.
Faith
Trust what you cannot yet see.
Faith does not remove grief.
Faith does not mean pretending that death does not hurt.
Faith says:
I trust that my loved one is in God’s hands.
I trust that God’s love is greater than death.
I trust that there is more to life than what I can see from here.
The My 3 Strands Eternity booklet speaks of death as a doorway into a new home and connects that hope with Jesus’ promise of eternal life.
Faith allows us to place someone we love into hands greater than our own.
Hope
Look toward the home God has promised.
Grief looks backward because we miss what was.
Hope also looks forward.
Christian hope does not say:
Forget the person who died.
It says:
Love has a future.
My 3 Strands uses the image of God’s house—a home where those who have died live in a new way with Him.
Hope allows us to imagine a day when the separation we experience now will no longer define the relationship.
Until then, we carry the person we love forward in prayer, gratitude, memory, and faith.
Love
Love does not become worthless because someone dies.
When a loved one dies, there may be nowhere obvious for all that love to go.
You still love them.
You still think about them.
You still remember their birthday.
You may still reach for the phone.
You may hear a song and immediately think of them.
You may laugh at something they would have loved.
You may speak their name years later and feel both joy and sadness at once.
Love continues because that person mattered.
And still matters.
Love says:
Your life was a gift to me.
I remember you.
I thank God for you.
I carry your love forward.
Pray Your Three Strands
The original My 3 Strands for Eternity prayer expresses the heart of this hope:
A deceased loved one in God’s hands
Lives the fullness of 3 strands.
Three strands of love, faith and hope
Weave a stronger bond than rope.
One lasting love, a braid of three,
God, my deceased loved ones and me.
May these three strands unite as one
at home with God when time is done.
The prayer reminds us that the three strands remain:
Love.
Faith.
Hope.
And the three persons remain within God’s care:
God.
My Loved One.
Me.
At Home With God
Home is one of the most powerful images we have.
Home is where we belong.
Where we are known.
Where we rest.
Where people know our name.
Where we do not have to explain who we are.
My 3 Strands for Eternity uses that familiar image to describe eternal life.
A loved one who has died has gone from the home we know into the home God has prepared.
The booklet pictures this as being in God’s house, living in a new place and a new way.
For someone grieving, this changes the question from:
Where did they go?
to:
Whose hands are they in?
And our answer of faith is:
God’s.
Their Life Is Still Part of Your Story
Death does not erase a person’s influence.
Think of all the strands they left behind.
Words they spoke.
Lessons they taught.
Traditions they began.
Sacrifices they made.
Stories they told.
Meals shared.
Trips taken.
Prayers prayed.
Children raised.
Friendships formed.
Laughter remembered.
Kindness offered.
A life continues to touch other lives long after physical death.
You may notice something they taught you appearing in the way you now treat someone else.
You may tell one of their stories to a child or grandchild.
You may repeat one of their expressions without realizing it.
You may make their favorite recipe.
You may pass on their faith.
Their strand has become woven into yours.
Grief Is Love Remembering
There is no single timetable for grief.
Some days may feel peaceful.
Others may surprise you.
A birthday.
An anniversary.
A song.
A photograph.
A familiar place.
A scent.
A holiday.
Grief may return suddenly even years later.
That does not mean you have forgotten how to live.
It means someone mattered.
You do not need to erase the relationship in order to move forward.
You can move forward with the love and memories that remain.
Speak Their Name
Sometimes people are afraid to mention someone who has died because they worry it will make the grieving person sad.
Often, the opposite can be true.
Their name matters.
Their story matters.
Their life matters.
Say the name.
Tell the story.
Remember the funny moments.
Remember the difficult ones too.
Look at photographs.
Share memories with children who may never have known them.
Keep the good they brought into the world alive.
Remembering is one way love continues to bear fruit.
When There Were Things Left Unsaid
Not every relationship was perfect before death.
There may be regrets.
Words you wish you had spoken.
Apologies you wish you had made.
Questions that were never answered.
Conflicts that were never fully resolved.
That can make grief especially painful.
Bring those unfinished places to God.
You can still pray:
Thank You for the good we shared.
Forgive what needs forgiveness.
Heal what I cannot repair myself.
Help me remember with love.
Give me peace.
Grace can enter even the unfinished strands.
Your Loved One Is Part of His Tapestry of Grace
The image of a tapestry is especially meaningful when someone dies.
During a person’s earthly life, we see threads being added one day at a time.
Some are bright with joy.
Some are dark with sorrow.
Some seem tangled.
Some never make sense to us.
Then earthly life ends.
We can no longer see new threads being added in the same way.
But that does not mean the life was lost.
The tapestry of that life remains.
Your My 3 Strands Eternity materials describe eternal life as a tapestry sewn with the three strands of love, faith, and hope.
Every person has left colors within the lives of others.
Every loving relationship becomes part of a larger pattern.
And the whole tapestry rests in God’s hands.
When We See Only One Strand
Grief can narrow our vision.
We see the last day.
The hospital room.
The funeral.
The empty chair.
The goodbye.
But the end of someone’s earthly life is not the whole of that person’s story.
Remember the beginning.
The childhood.
The dreams.
The friendships.
The accomplishments.
The ordinary days.
The people they loved.
The lives they touched.
The laughter.
The faith.
The love.
We see one strand.
God sees the whole tapestry.
Start With Two Minutes a Day
My 3 Strands for Eternity offers a simple practice for remembering someone you love.
In the morning, pause.
Pray the Eternity prayer.
Then remember the three persons:
God.
My Loved One.
Me.
Say your loved one’s name.
Give thanks for something about their life.
Ask God for faith.
Ask for hope.
Remember the love you shared.
Then do the same before going to sleep.
The Eternity booklet suggests using the prayer card in this way each day—writing the names of deceased loved ones on the card, praying for them, and intentionally remembering them in God’s presence.
Two minutes cannot remove grief.
But two minutes can create a quiet place for memory, prayer, gratitude, and hope.
Remembering Different People We Love
A Spouse
You + Your Husband or Wife + God
Remember the life you built together and entrust your spouse into God’s eternal love.
A Parent
You + Your Mother or Father + God
Give thanks for the life, sacrifices, memories, and family story they gave you.
A Child
You + Your Child + God
Carry a love that remains precious beyond measure and place your child tenderly in God’s hands.
A Grandparent
You + Your Grandparent + God
Keep alive the stories, wisdom, traditions, and love passed from one generation to another.
A Brother or Sister
You + Your Sibling + God
Remember the person who shared part of your earliest story.
A Friend
You + Your Friend + God
Treasure the friendship that became one of the important strands in your life.
Carry Their Love Forward
One of the most meaningful ways to remember someone is to continue the good they placed within you.
If they were generous:
Be generous.
If they encouraged people:
Encourage someone.
If they loved children:
Care for a child.
If they served others:
Serve.
If they prayed:
Pray.
If they made people laugh:
Share joy.
If they loved deeply:
Keep loving.
In that way, the strand they placed within your life continues to be woven into the lives of others.
Treasure the Relationship
Do not be afraid to remember.
Speak their name.
Tell their stories.
Look at the photographs.
Thank God for what was beautiful.
Forgive what was imperfect.
Carry forward what was good.
Pray.
Love.
Hope.
And when grief reminds you how deeply you miss them, remember why:
Their life mattered.
Your love mattered.
Your relationship mattered.
And it still has a place within your story.
My 3 Strands for Eternity
You. Your Loved One. God.
Faith. Hope. Love.
Three strands that death cannot make meaningless.
Remember a Loved One →
Pray the My 3 Strands for Eternity Prayer →
Create a Memorial Remembrance →
Find Hope After Loss →
Share Their Story →