Beauty from Ashes
Grief can be beautiful. The world tells us that grief is sadness, pain, something to get through and get over. And grief IS sadness and pain but it can also be so much more. I've lost a lot of loves in my life. I lost my first husband, Ken, 20 years ago and my mom just a few weeks ago. When you love someone deeply and your lives have been lived together, intertwined, their loss feels like part of you comes unraveled. You realize day by day, it's not just one loss, it's a thousand little losses. Grief IS exhausting, painful and just plain hard work. We don't get to choose when we suffer a loss, but we can choose HOW we grieve. The Bible tells us we can grieve as those with no hope- a path that leads to despair and brokenness- or we can grieve as those with hope- a path that leads to spiritual growth, hope, peace and even joy- that death does not have the final word. I choose to grieve with HOPE. HOPE that this life isn't all there is. HOPE that the love I ...