Made To Move MountainsSýnishorn

Day 3 

It’s Okay to Grieve 

I was telling a close friend about a mountain my family was facing when I said, “I know it’s not as bad as . . . ,” and my friend called me on it. “Stop doing that. It’s okay to stop and feel the pain of this. It’s shocking and unexpected, and you need to admit it. If you need permission to acknowledge this as suffering, here it is. It’s okay for you to grieve.”

I needed permission to grieve because sometimes emptying yourself of all that is pent up is the best way to climb a mountain. Over several months, I slowly began to give myself permission to go to the grieving place inside of me and feel loss. I wrote things privately to Jesus. I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. While it didn’t really accomplish anything at first, I at least started the process of emptying myself of expectations and pain. I shook my fist. I felt angry, and I loosened my death grip on control. 

And then something kind of beautiful and unexpected happened in my grief. I experienced a deeper compassion for those who suffer. Dealing with my pain helped me to see the pain of others more clearly. Embracing my sorrow showed me that Jesus was grieving with me. Every single thing we have faced and what we will endure in the future, our Lord experienced during his lifetime and on the cross. 

Allow yourself to feel loss, sadness, disappointment, and grief in your situation. God allows suffering in our lives so we will also know joy despite our circumstances.

All the crap we are going through is making us beautiful. It isn’t eloquent, but it’s the truth. The pressure from all sides that Paul writes about in Second Corinthians produces something in us: it reveals the life of Jesus in our own lives.

Give yourself permission to grieve. How could you make space for your sadness today?