Grief and Sorrow
I have been thinking a lot about grief recently. One of the best things I learned about grief was when I first got to Kenya. The lady who was running new staff orientation along with her husband said it is okay to grieve, and not just people. It is okay to grieve over places, things, animals...all those things important in your life. Now, this is not an all consuming grief that doesn't ever go away. But grief is definitely part of the road to healing.
We see Jesus going through deep grief before He died on the cross--so deep that he sweated blood. Though I will never die on a cross to take away sin, there are things in my life that grieve me deeply. And Jesus knows. He is with me. He gets it. He holds me as I cry. In fact, he catches all my tears in a bottle (Psalms 56:8). And there are times when that bottle is quite big, when my grief seems too much to handle. But Jesus gets it. And as the tears fall, I can feel His arms tighten around me as He whispers that He loves me. The creator of the universe loves me beyond what I can imagine.
Hurting hearts out there...I get it. There are times when it seems like nobody understands, when the tears can't stop no matter what. But even better: Jesus gets it. He experienced grief deeper than I can imagine. He didn't just push it away. He felt the enormity of it.
As I think about grief, I look outside and see the leaves on the trees turning colors richer and deeper than what seems possible. And those leaves are dying. As they die, they become beautiful. In my grief, Jesus can do beautiful things in me. In feeling like some of my hopes and dreams are dying, I remember I can't see the whole picture. I wonder if the leaves know they are turning beautiful colors or if it just feels like death. I wonder if God sees something beautiful that I can't when I feel like everything is dying. I know He has a beautiful story for me. I may not see it, but I can trust Him, even through and in my tears.
We see Jesus going through deep grief before He died on the cross--so deep that he sweated blood. Though I will never die on a cross to take away sin, there are things in my life that grieve me deeply. And Jesus knows. He is with me. He gets it. He holds me as I cry. In fact, he catches all my tears in a bottle (Psalms 56:8). And there are times when that bottle is quite big, when my grief seems too much to handle. But Jesus gets it. And as the tears fall, I can feel His arms tighten around me as He whispers that He loves me. The creator of the universe loves me beyond what I can imagine.
Hurting hearts out there...I get it. There are times when it seems like nobody understands, when the tears can't stop no matter what. But even better: Jesus gets it. He experienced grief deeper than I can imagine. He didn't just push it away. He felt the enormity of it.
As I think about grief, I look outside and see the leaves on the trees turning colors richer and deeper than what seems possible. And those leaves are dying. As they die, they become beautiful. In my grief, Jesus can do beautiful things in me. In feeling like some of my hopes and dreams are dying, I remember I can't see the whole picture. I wonder if the leaves know they are turning beautiful colors or if it just feels like death. I wonder if God sees something beautiful that I can't when I feel like everything is dying. I know He has a beautiful story for me. I may not see it, but I can trust Him, even through and in my tears.
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