Grief & Prayer

I have come to see that with the sunshine in life comes the rain. It always happens and will continue on in a never ending cycle. It is wisdom and maturity that helps us see how both are needed in a fully growing life.

So many of those that mean so much to me are grieving. Death, loss, disappointments, grief, and sickness. These things make us all sit up and realize how fragile we are. Sure, we have plans and hopes and desires. We go about our lives with this sometimes cocky spirit....as if nothing would dare happen to us. And yet.....

There are people who are doubled over in grief as I write this. There are those who have been in tears for DAYS over loss in their life. There are people who feel so desperate that they are alone and contemplating taking their own lives just so their pain will end. There are tiny babies and children who have lost the fight with terminal illness. There now are shattered pieces where there once was something whole.

What to do....sometimes my sorrow for others can almost be overwhelming. And I think....what to do? How can I share my heart with those who are mourning. And then I remember what got my family though our own dark nights. I remember that the "...effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:16

Ah, sweet prayer. It literally is a balm to the weary soul. When my soul was at it's weakest moment in my LIFE, it was prayer that healed me and gave me strength that came only from God above. It was prayer that gave me the most precious gift that can be found in grief. Hope.

Hope for a new day. Hope for change. Hope for laughter and light to return. Hope for miraculous wonders to fill our lives and for the ability to notice them.

For all of those who are ending this day sadder than they were last week. Maybe even sadder than they were just yesterday, I hope you know this. You are in my prayers. You will continue to be in my prayers. God bless you mightily in ways that you cannot even imagine. And for those whose grief is not so obvious. Or maybe those whose grief is still fresh even though their loss it not. Those who are depressed in spirit and struggling to keep it together. I pray for you as well. May God put people in your life so that you can reveal your secret, hidden pain and find "...grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16