Being Held

This past week I took a walk around a lake near my home. The music I was listening to put me in my own world. However, a quick glance to my left and I stepped on an emotional landmine. There was a couple around my age walking and holding hands. 

I did more than notice. It started with some jealousy and then some whining that led to a full recognition that I would never have the experience holding hands again with my husband or any other man. It not only smacked the reality of the loss of my husband, but the loss of my identity as being a part of a couple.

As I continued to walk, the music I was listening to interrupted my pity party. The song playing reminded me I was not alone. The lyrics spoke of how the Lord is my shepherd and goes before me. It wasn’t immediately, but slowly I recalled what I knew to be true as I walked. I am not alone. I have a verse underlined in my Bible, Psalm 73:23, says, “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” 

Somehow this verse gave me evidence that I am holding hands with my Heavenly Father. He’s holding my hand, assuring me, sustaining me, comforting me, upholding me, and demonstrating His unfailing love for me. The promise of God’s daily abiding presence is a reality as I come to the Lord each morning to soak up and let my mind saturate in His word.

Author Dane Ortlund, in his book, “Gentle and Lowly” tells the story of his two-year-old son as he enters a pool: “He holds on tight as the water gradually gets deeper. But a two-year-old’s grip is not very strong. Before long it is not he holding on to me but me holding on to him. Left to his own strength he will certainly slip out of my hand. But if I have determined that he will not fall out of my grasp, he is secure. He can’t get away from me if he tried. So with Christ. We cling to him to be sure. But our grip is that of a two-year-old amid the stormy waves of life. His sure grasp never falters. Psalm 63:8 expresses the doable sided truth: “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Truly we are held tightly in the ever-present, never failing, always powerful, gentle hand of our faithful Heavenly Father. 

"Grateful Yet Grieving"

FREE ebook by Pam Luschei | Click HERE To Download

Collective Grief

This past week brought two worldwide reminders of loss: the anniversary of 9/11 and the death of Queen Elizabeth.

In 2001, the world watched us as a nation grieve and now, we are watching a nation grieve their beloved queen. This kind of grief is known as collective grief.

“Collective grief happens when a community, society, village, or nation all experience extreme change or loss. Collective grief can manifest in the wake of major events such as war, natural disasters, or others that result in mass casualties or widespread tragedy.” (Grief Recovery Center)

Time has passed but every year we stop to remember the tragedy of 9/11. I’ve been to the Pentagon Memorial in Washington D.C. and the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. Both sites are hallowed ground as you walk about the memorials and read the names of those who died. A sense of sacredness hovers in these spaces.

This week I’ve observed the many ways England is honoring the Queen. The pomp and circumstance offer us another perspective of grieving someone we know but didn’t really know. 

In the Old Testament, after Moses died, the people took a month to mourn. Deuteronomy 34:7 and 8, says, “Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.” God’s people set aside time to mourn and allowed time and togetherness help them heal.

Collective grief offers something similar.

We are reminded we are not alone. There’s a connection in the shared sorrow of grieving with others. Death is a universal experience, yet uniquely experienced by each individual in their own way.

We recognize the impact and importance of grief in a community. An entire community and culture join as one to overshadow the individuality of each person.

We are offered an opportunity to see grief as a reverent form of respect. Grief is honored and practiced with dignity in a culture of “hurry up and get over it.” This is a gift to all of us.

"Grateful Yet Grieving"

FREE ebook by Pam Luschei | Click HERE To Download