Along with the others noted here today, this verse is very personal to me. In 2017 my wife of 24 years suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. I was plunged into a season of grief like none I had ever experienced. Since then, I have managed to get through it with the help of my friends, my family, and my faith.
Each and all of us experience grief in varying degrees. Besides the obvious - death and divorce - grief can have dozens of causes that cannot be overlooked. These may include loss of a friendship, health problems, financial loss, financial gain, legal problems, losing a job, or even starting a job, moving to a new place, starting school, graduation, retirement, etc. Any unresolved loss in our lives will result in grief.
Healing from a loss is not "getting over it" nor is it finding closure. Instead, we are to get through it. Psalm 23:4 reminds us that we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, not around it. Grief recovery is the process of completing a loss that is limiting or restricting your life.
Scripture also teaches us that we are comforted so that we may, in turn, comfort others. This is also a crucial step in the healing process. Just four months into my grief journey, I was asked by one of our pastors if I would be willing to meet with a man who had just lost his wife. I wasn't sure I was ready but then I agreed and, in doing so, I found my own healing taking place. God was able to use me and my experience - which were sufficient for the moment - to help this man as he began to navigate his own journey.
His rod and His staff comforted me on my journey through that dark valley. Because of that, I have completed the loss of my wife. That doesn't mean she is forgotten. I will always have the scar but the pain is gone. I have been healed as the grief no longer has any power over me.
Read also: 2nd Corinthians 1:3-7, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 30:11-12
No comments:
Post a Comment