Grief

Wanted to write about this yesterday, but was so very tired when I got home from rehearsal that I simply did homework and went to bed. Jen's been out of town at Outdoor School with her 6th graders, so my mom watched the girls last night. They were asleep when I got home, and they're asleep still this morning. They need it.

I had an interesting conversation with a good friend yesterday on the nature of grief. It got me thinking. We talk about grief being this "thing" that we all must go through. Oddly, there is no real definition for grief. I mean, sure, you can define it, but your definition of it could be completely off when compared to someone else's. Even spouses of 40+ years differ in how they define and experience grief. Certainly, there are some aspects of grief that we all share, but the reality is that not everyone hits the same stages of grief at the same time, and some will completely skip certain stages altogether. Grief, in any form, can become debilitating. It can paralyze a person, and through them into a deep, dark depression. It can take a "with it" man or woman, and turn them into a recluse. It causes familes to break up, and relationships to be torn apart. Take heart, though.

There is hope.

You see, Jesus promises the end of grief. I know, you probably didn't come here to be lectured. I'll try not to. I simply want to offer hope. Jesus will restore mankind and the world to what He and the Father had intended all along. Pain, suffering, grief - all washed away. They won't even be a memory. Living for today, while in the midst of grief, means we must live for tomorrow RIGHT NOW. As followers of Christ, we must constantly have an eye to the future, to the return of Christ, so that our pain is placed in the prizm of God's promises. Only there will we be able to find peace. The grief we feel when losing a loved one can be overshadowed by the immense love our Creator poured out for us through His son, Jesus. Focus on His love for us and find peace.

More to come. Thanks for being there, reader.