The pain of loss. It's an aching, yawning cavern. It is a place where you feel that God cannot reach you. Intellectually, if you are a Christian, you know the Bible says that there is no place like that, either in heaven or on earth. Whether it's the loss of a child, other loved one, or merely the loss of a long-cherished dream, loss makes us feel wildly abandoned and utterly crushed, no matter what our rational mind says to the contrary.
Have you ever struggled with how to pray for someone who is experiencing a deep sense of loss? I have. Recently I struggled with how to pray for the familes who lost their young children in Connecticut. I was so overcome with the horror of what they were dealing with, I did not know what to ask God to do for them. I did not know what would work to mitigate their pain. I wanted to, as so many of you did as well, push a button and make those hurting people okay, make them whole again.
We say that we know that we are on a journey heavenward, that the most important thing in life is serving God. However, there are so many things on this earth that we hold very dear, beginning with our spouses and children and working outward to our other family members. We hold our vocations dear, because they are an expression of who we are. We hold our physical bodies dear, because they let us express ourselves and fit in with society. We hold our marriages close, because they are integral to our identity, our sense of being loved and accepted unconditionally. When any one of these precious possessions is lost or damaged, a person can feel as if they are thrown into a pit. Sometimes it feels as if one is falling for a very long time. While they are hurtling into the blackness, there is nowhere to put their feet on solid ground, no place to grasp hold of with their hands. It is just a continual falling. And very, very lonely. I have so many Facebook friends around the country who have lost parents recently. I have other friends who, like me, suffered the mind-bending loss of miscarriage. Loss is all around us, all of the time. Even if we are not currently in a season of it ourselves, we MUST carry other people's burdens, help lighten their loads through prayer and support.
How is it possible to recover from loss? That's a tough one, since there are shades of it going on all throughout a person's life. I do believe in praying and believing for a hedge of protection around those I love. I am not going to give up my faith that God is a good God and stop believing him for favor and a long, healthy life for me and for those I love. Not at all. However, what do I do and what do I encourage others to do when they are suffering so much that they feel disconnected, not only from the Lord, but from all of the rest of us, who seem so happy by comparison? First and foremost, I will cry with them. Secondly, I will beg God for his comforting presence to rest on them. Third, I will remember that no one ever got through loss alone. We need each other.
Have you ever struggled with how to pray for someone who is experiencing a deep sense of loss? I have. Recently I struggled with how to pray for the familes who lost their young children in Connecticut. I was so overcome with the horror of what they were dealing with, I did not know what to ask God to do for them. I did not know what would work to mitigate their pain. I wanted to, as so many of you did as well, push a button and make those hurting people okay, make them whole again.
We say that we know that we are on a journey heavenward, that the most important thing in life is serving God. However, there are so many things on this earth that we hold very dear, beginning with our spouses and children and working outward to our other family members. We hold our vocations dear, because they are an expression of who we are. We hold our physical bodies dear, because they let us express ourselves and fit in with society. We hold our marriages close, because they are integral to our identity, our sense of being loved and accepted unconditionally. When any one of these precious possessions is lost or damaged, a person can feel as if they are thrown into a pit. Sometimes it feels as if one is falling for a very long time. While they are hurtling into the blackness, there is nowhere to put their feet on solid ground, no place to grasp hold of with their hands. It is just a continual falling. And very, very lonely. I have so many Facebook friends around the country who have lost parents recently. I have other friends who, like me, suffered the mind-bending loss of miscarriage. Loss is all around us, all of the time. Even if we are not currently in a season of it ourselves, we MUST carry other people's burdens, help lighten their loads through prayer and support.
How is it possible to recover from loss? That's a tough one, since there are shades of it going on all throughout a person's life. I do believe in praying and believing for a hedge of protection around those I love. I am not going to give up my faith that God is a good God and stop believing him for favor and a long, healthy life for me and for those I love. Not at all. However, what do I do and what do I encourage others to do when they are suffering so much that they feel disconnected, not only from the Lord, but from all of the rest of us, who seem so happy by comparison? First and foremost, I will cry with them. Secondly, I will beg God for his comforting presence to rest on them. Third, I will remember that no one ever got through loss alone. We need each other.
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