Grief

Grief is deeply personal. It is sometimes private. It is always pain-filled. Grief doesn’t have to be experienced alone even though it’s deeply personal. I remember grieving over so many people who have gone on before me. There have been times when death was a welcomed friend. There are other times when death was a dramatic surprise and almost took my breath away.

I remember grieving over the death of a marriage many years ago. When the marriage ended and I began to process the fallout and pain from a shattered relationship, I grieved.

Jesus was not free from grief while He was here on the earth. He loved His cousin John (aka John the Baptist).  When Jesus learned of His death, He immediately wanted to be alone. Check this out…

¹³ As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. ¹⁴ Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:13-14 NLT)

Jesus attempted private grief but was overwhelmed with compassion of the crowd who needed Him. He set aside His time of deep grief, to serve those who needed Him. I believe He found time later to grieve the death of John.

Grief is a hard journey.

The deeper the love for a person, the deeper the grief is.

There are no shortcuts through grief – it is a dark valley that must be navigate with the guiding light of hope.

Grief over the death of a friend gives perspective to life. The death rate here on earth is 100% (minus Enoch and Elijah)! The reason grief is so hard is because life can be so rich and fulfilling. The richer the personal relationship, the deeper and the longer the valley of grief takes to navigate.

I have found myself grieving over the death of another friend’s child, spouse, or parent. My grief is internalized and I’m imagining walking through the same valley of grief as my friend. I’ve even grieved over celebrities and people I don’t remotely know for the same reason.

I can learn from Jesus about grief. I need to get away from the noise of my current situation to reflect and grieve. Sometimes the tears have a way of cleansing my soul that I can’t find any other way.  As a follower of Jesus, I grieve with deep hope and joy can return once again. Jesus also served others and that can help deal with grief. If I can take my eyes off my grief and find a way to comfort or serve others, the time in the valley of grief is shortened.

The Lord walks with me through grief. He understands. He restores my soul from grief. He is patience with me in grief. He understands that everyone grieves similarly, but also quite differently. Time is the great healer of grief. Looking back on some of my deepest valleys of grief, I now have a healthier perspective on that journey. The Presence of Jesus makes a HUGE difference in my experience with “the valley of the shadow of death”.

Pressing On!

Dwayne