One of the most debilitating things we do to ourselves is fail to grieve. Many of us haven’t grieved the losses we’ve experienced in life. We haven’t faced the true hurt we feel. We haven’t properly shed tears. And some of us haven’t even acknowledged how the loss has actually affected us. We’re in, what I call, survival mode. No time to hurt. No use in hurting. No sense in hurting. What good will it do? But whenever we resist the natural, healing process of grieving, we internalize the hurt to our own detriment. Our spirit becomes troubled. And our bodies becomes sick. Our way becomes burdensome. No one is so strong that they don’t hurt when they experience a loss. We may not all hurt the same way or to the same degree. But we all hurt. Strength is not denying pain in order to move forward. But strength is being able to move forward in spite of pain. Some have experienced grief from losing loved ones; some from divorce and other broken relationships. Some have even experience grief from seasonal shifts in their lives that no longer require their presence. I’ve learned from my own grief, that when you don’t deal with it, it deals with you. So I’ve learned to shed those tears when they well up in my eyes from time to time. I’ve learned to tell God, “This still hurts!” “I loved her so much!” “I miss her so much, Lord!” And when I tell God where I am in that moment, He meets me there and comforts me. I don’t try to convince myself that it doesn’t hurt so I can feel better in that moment. I admit that it does hurt, so that I can be filled better as God sustains me. Grief is that thing in our human experience that God won’t necessarily snatch us out of. But He will sustain us if we let Him. “He comforts is IN all of our troubles.” Grief is that thing that requires us to perpetually trust God and His sovereignty. You may not shed tears like I do. But I want to encourage you to acknowledge your pain and your grief to God. Some of us are hard and calloused or even passive and cavalier about life. But it’s not always just because that’s just the way you are. It could be your survival mode defenses. It could be your attempt to feel in control or your attempt to stay disconnectedfrom your hurt. Unlike people, God knows why you are the way you are. He knows that you are hurting. And unlike people, He can actually do something about it. Let Him.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 