recently i have been thinking in "blogs." although my life is far from fascinating, there are little things throughout the day that i find amusing, frustrating or interesting, and therefore blog-worthy. today's blog, however, is none of these. while i have been mulling over this post for about a week now, the right words and thoughts still seem to evade me, so forgive me if i ramble.
two weeks ago a good friend from high school's dad passed away. eight days later another good friend from high school lost his father. and one of my oldest and dearest friends is married to the first guy. i cannot stop thinking about and praying for these two families, and the many lives that are affected by the loses. i have cried for all of them, i have been so saddened by their losses, and i have walked through the valley of grief with them, even from a thousand miles away.
although it has been awhile since i have experienced the pain of losing a loved one, i do believe that i am familiar with grief. and i don't think the cause matters, grief is grief. it hurts. it overwhelms. it runs deep. but eventually it doesn't hurt, as much. eventually, it is not as overwhelming. and, eventually, it moves to shallower ground. but i think it always lingers.
maybe i'm wrong about that. maybe eventually the grief over a deep-seated loss goes away. and maybe it isn't the grief that lingers, but i think something sticks around. don't know what to call it, but there is something that remains- a reminder of sorts. why does this "something" stick around?... i'm not entirely sure. but for right now, and for these past two weeks, this lingering grief has allowed me to feel connected to my friends who are so far away. i know my source of grief is different from theirs, but i feel able to mourn with them. and i feel able to pray for them.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." 2 Corinthians 1.3-5
Much love and comfort to you, Matt, Amanda and Rob.
Hi Erika,
ReplyDeleteThe pain of losing a loved one never goes away. But, as with all our life experiences, the pain is woven into the fabric of who we are. The love of the one we lost becomes part of who we are. We use our experience to support and love friends that suddenly are experiencing the same pain. Its a God thing that ties us all together, even through grief. We know what Matt, Amanda and Robby are feeling. It is this knowledge that helps us help them.
Paul