God's Goodness in Our GriefChikamu

PROCESSING THE PAIN

Unfathomable pain stirred in my heart when I lost my sister. That pain showed up in ways I didn't see coming. There was an overload of emotional episodes happening within me.

I distinctly recall becoming so angry that I would scream. I remember putting a pillow over my face and yelling as loud as I could. I took my fist and hurled it into the cushion of the headboard. I threw things across the room in frustration. Most times, I was so sad that all I could do was cry. The unpredictability of my feelings left me frightened.

Some days, the people around me bore the brunt of it all. My challenge became not allowing sorrow to consume the remaining days of my life. Instead, I had to make the daily choice to get up and keep going. Continuing on was difficult to do.

I was encouraged to recall the times when Jesus was intense in how He felt. He overturned tables in the synagogue and wept at the loss of His friend Lazarus. Luke 22:44 describes Jesus’ anguish as He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood. Jesus was both God and man, and He displayed emotions. Jesus’ response to what he was experiencing still left him without fault. We are challenged and encouraged to not offend in our actions. It’s tough to do and requires us to ask God to guide us in our thoughts and responses.

God knows when we are downcast and need to release what is happening inside of us. God gave us our emotions, and it’s ok to let them out. When we need to cry or be sad, angry, or frustrated, God will accept it from us.

I don’t know what your grief story is, but I know our grief can be a daily battle. We are not abandoned in our heartache. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and He saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) We can get up and we can keep going by trusting that God can see us through, one day at a time.

● What emotions are you wrestling with that are keeping you from experiencing peace?

● Journal to God asking Him to help you work through your feelings.