Grief

 

Grief is a fickle thing. Sometimes, it is just a little prod, reminding you it’s there. Other times, though, it is like a punch in the gut while you have a stomach bug. Either way, it’s always there, lurking around every corner. At times, it is a small sting that feels like a bee. At others, it feels like a ton of bricks has settled on your chest and you have no escape.

The grief can look different day to day, week to week, month to month. It can be a simple ping of sadness at a song or a name that reminds you of who or what you have lost. It can also be an overwhelming wave of sorrow as you remember a birthday, a shared joke, or think to call the person you are missing.

It hurts. It is an endless ache, a bottomless, empty pit, a sea of despair. Grief is something that is typically experienced silently. It is an experience unique to you, and unique to each loss you have. It can feel lonely. In short, laymen’s terms: grief sucks.

The Devil likes to use this pain and despair and loneliness to try to take a jab at our heart of hearts. He tries to use our weaknesses to his advantage. He desires to use it to break us down.

However, we can say, “Hosanna. Hosanna to God in the highest.” In Hebrew, hosanna translates to “save us.” We can cry “Hosanna” with full confidence, knowing our Savior has already taken care of our weakness. His strength is made perfect in it. In the midst of suffering and pain and despair, we get to cry out for help and have Him answer. He has overcome death. He has overcome the grave. He has overcome our deep depths of despair. He has overcome our grief.

Christ is a light no darkness can overcome. Let us rest in His goodness and mercy. As we feel all the normal and acceptable stages of grief, let us feel these feelings of pain but know that He has overcome them all. Amen.