Real Hope: GriefChikamu

Rest And Restore

I’ve spent most of my life on the go and somehow managed to believe that I could process life "on the go." I had compassion for people who found themselves burnt out but thought I could simply decide that didn’t need to be me.

Yes, the wiser ones reading already know what happened. Somewhere in the middle of pastoring a church while working as a midwife, intensive care nurse and educator, being a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, I experienced the grief of my dad dying, and it completely unraveled me. My grandma had died the year before, and after my dad died, my husband was diagnosed with a cerebral aneurysm and had surgery as my daughter sat for her first HSC exam.

I could feel the fibers of my being pulled out until I was threadbare. My mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and two of my most trusted friends tried to undermine my faith and character to others with a narrative that still to this day is nothing short of cruel.

Accumulated grief affected my health and caused me to stop and take stock. Life is a strange gift, and what we do with our grief as it strips us can also become a gift. For me this was discovering a different rhythm to life, learning to listen to my body, and being more reflective in my spiritual practices. My God who comes close, who cares for me in the shadow of grief and death also makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. God knows best how to restore my soul, and I have had to learn to let go of the doing and discover more of what it means to be. The message is simple–God wants us to rest and to be restored.

Written by Kath Henry