Wholeness in Loss

Grief is a fascinating thing to me. 

How people handle grief. It meets people in different ways, takes a unique form, shows its ugly beautiful face in ways you don't expect. Some people run headlong into it, talk to it, face it like old friends and then some, some people battle it inside. Wrestle with the thoughts, nail them down, need a getaway. 

People are so different. So beautifully, wonderfully different. 

Death invites itself in and sits down at your table. And you're saddened by its presence, but you're overjoyed by what it means. It means another welcome into the Throne Room, another dance in a new resurrected body. But for the people left behind, it means they've got to dig. They've got to dig and they've got to believe and they've got to be vulnerable and face why they disconnected in the first place. 

Death. Well, it can be a crazy, beautiful thing.
Not can be. It is a crazy, beautiful thing.

You never know what words mean until you find yourself in a position when they're all you need. The power of the Living Word of God. The words of people. The prayers, the peace of God. 
You never know what presence means until you look around and see people around you and you wonder how you ever felt alone. The everlasting presence of God. The showing up of people. The faithfulness of friends. 

The texts. The asking of what you can do.
The emails from my life group parents. 
The outpouring from our Little League family. 
New Charlotte staff. You can't possibly know how much your presence meant to me. Touched my heart.

It's love.
The way we respond, the way you've responded, it matters far more than you know. Grief can twist and distort and if we're not intentional, it can lead us off the path of where it should lead - to wholeness, restoration, and light. Thankfully, gratefully, gracefully, we have people who point us and lead us and remind us of the beautiful story and the beautiful love of Jesus. 

My heart is full. My cup runs over. Isn't that weird to say in a time such as this? Glory be to the hope, peace, grace of Christ. To the provider, the One who has gone before.