Grief

Getting Back in the Boat

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And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Matthew 14:32

This short, seemingly insignificant verse holds a promise I had overlooked till I desperately needed it. I often thought about God challenging me as when Peter walked on water. Other times it was comforting to know that Jesus reached out his hand to save Peter. But it is just as important to know that Jesus wants to restore normalcy and calm to our lives.

fishing sea sky sunset

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My mother was just 62 when she died of breast cancer and her passing left me feeling like I had been run over by a truck. The years struggling to rebuild our relationship, the prayers and the conversations were suddenly over. I felt as if I were locked in a room with barely enough air to breathe. I sleep walked through months of guilt and regret for what had never been. Then one morning as the light began to shine outside my window it also started shining again in my heart. It wasn’t that I suddenly could understand the reasons behind the hurt, but rather that knowing only God knew was now enough.

Prayer: Father even the hurts that I will never understand and the struggles that no one else knows about are safe with you. Thank you that you are not always challenging or rescuing me, but that some days you simply help me back in the boat. I am grateful and I rest in your care as the wind calms to a hush.

Comfort and Joy

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In the church my dad attended years ago they loved singing:

The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from Heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found—
The Comforter has come!    Frank Bottome 1890

God is near to comfort. But if we look to friends, activities or work in order to quiet the chorus of grief and loss we feel we will miss out on a living relationship with Him.  Maybe the past is clouding your vision of the path just ahead. Hurt, pain and the empty chair across the table are shouting out, while God whispers in His still small voice. Jesus promised to send us Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit to come and sit by our side. In His presence are quiet waters to drink from that heal and restore our souls. Once we drink from His stream we can go on with a cup of comfort to share with anyone in need along our way. Then we will know with Paul that the greatest joy is found, not by searching for it, but by asking, “Who can I comfort today?”

 

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Our Comforting God

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Do you ever wonder while passing through a night of tears what good could ever come of it? Does it seem that just when you had hopes things would get better – another crisis appeared? Why would a loving God purposely allow us to suffer? I can still remember going to church, the first Sunday after my mother’s death. A well meaning friend simply  asked how I was doing. As I started to answer emotion like a tidal wave overwhelmed me and I sat in the pew weeping. The friend who had asked just put his arm over my shoulder and sat with me till I could catch my breath. I had not known how deep those waters were until I found myself drowning in them and yet they are the waters each of us must cross.

Life’s most important question is not how to avoid pain but who we turn to for comfort at that moment. Are you hurting tonight? Feeling alone or even angry? God has not forgotten you, is not away doing something more important or waiting for you to get back to normal. There is no way to be prepared without Him. He is right at your side ready with His comfort.  God is  in those exact moments giving us not only His comfort but also His gift to carry that comfort to others who wait just down the road in our lives.

Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:4