Seeing God's Faithfulness in the Shadow of GriefIhe Atụ

As I pulled away from Wynter’s body, I knew that the next thing I must do was to help my girls deal with this new reality. I had no time to process what I was going to say. I knew they weren’t prepared for what was to come.

I believe God gave me the words they needed to hear. I wanted them to own the truth that was boiling over in me at that very moment. So, I got down on one knee and told them what I believed with every ounce of my being.

“Mommy went home to be with Jesus.”

Simple words, yes, but the only words I knew would help them navigate this crisis. They were as shocked and heartbroken as I was. I can’t describe the anguish, confusion, and pain that entered into that room. 

There, during the hardest moment of my entire life, I knew I needed to remind the girls of the goodness of God and the security of His love. As we held each other and I sang “Good, Good Father” over them, we sought God’s comfort together. I could not protect them from the pain of losing their mom, a woman who had poured everything she had into their lives. But I knew I could invite them to join me in a unity of Spirit like that Paul referred to in his letter to the church at Philippi:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in the spirit and of one mind (Philippians 2:1-2).

I knew that it would be a work of the Spirit that would bring us through this time. And I knew it would be our unity that would give us strength for the days to come. 

In death two things are true at once. First, we say goodbye to someone we aren’t ready to lose. But second, and just as real, we release them to someone who cares for them infinitely more than we ever could. On this day and ever since, I’ve chosen to grab hold of the second truth as firmly as the first.

In whatever loss you may be facing today, I encourage you to hold onto The Truth that holds onto you. God is in control. He cares. Hold onto hope in Him.