Grieving Hearts

by Sara Simoneaux

Grief isn’t like a sweater that you occasionally pull out of the closet to try on and then quickly return. Grief isn’t synonymous with birthdays, holidays or anniversaries. Grief exists in the everyday and mundane. It shows up during your morning coffee, your commute, a song on the radio, a restaurant, a movie, an old sweatshirt or favorite photograph. It is constant and fleeting at the same time, living in both the darkness and the light. And time? Time heals nothing.
With time we find our feet and learn to navigate our emotions. We learn to compartmentalize and recognize triggers. We learn what topics of conversation to avoid and when. We learn how to shove it down and continue our life. But time does not heal and grief remains as present as the air we breathe. 

Holidays are always especially difficult for the grieving heart. The empty chairs, the attempted recipes that never turn out quite the same, the gifts not purchased or received, the traditions that have been lost and the children too young to ever know just what they’re missing. But there is hope in the sadness; joy in faith and the belief in what comes next. Life is fleeting but love is eternal and so is the life that God has promised us all. Death is not an end, but merely a temporary separation. And this holiday season, I’ve found solace in His promise and comfort in His love. It is my hope that all my kindred grieving hearts have found the same. 

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Psalm 147:3

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  John 3:16