Oh My Goodness!!!!! It has been a HOT minute since I have written anything or shared my heart with you lovely peaches. It has been a cuuuurrrraaaazzzzyyyy couples of years. We have suffered loss, heartache and sometimes our sanity. To say it has been hard navigating through the pain is such an understatement. I don’t even know where to begin so I am going to jump right in with both feet.

I would like to start by saying (and you know this about me) I LOVE GOD! I TRUST GOD! I know that everything works together for the good for those that LOVE the Lord. BUT let me tell you life is hard people! If you think for one minute that things come easy for those who are saved and are trying the best they can to live a good life, to be kind, to be helpful and giving, you are so wrong! Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. Bad things just happen because there is sin (the devil) in our world. There will always be bad things in this earthly realm. I know I have said that there are consequences to our actions and that we reap what we sow, but there is also just plain evil attacking in every way possible. Satan knows his time is short and he is trying to do as much damage as he can in the time he has left. So we have a decision to make. Do we lay down and wallow in our misery or do we praise Him in the fire?

Because we live in a fallen world, life does includes sorrow. When sin entered the human race, it brought death—physical death and spiritual death with all the accompanying ramifications. Death or loss of anything we value causes grief. However, God has a higher purpose for His people, and He is faithful to use our most painful times to mature us, to draw us into closer dependence on Him.

As for a lot of us the past couple of years has brought loss in ways we never could have imagined. Some have lost parents and children to death. Some have lost friends through death or divorce. Some have lost their health and have had to adjust to an entirely different lifestyle. Some have lost the companionship of friends because someone moves. Some have lost jobs/careers. Engagements have been broken. Friendships have been betrayed. These losses cause us to sorrow and to grieve, deeply affecting our emotions.

“Grief is a feeling of deep mental anguish caused by loss. It can be the loss of a loved one, loss of possessions, loss of a career, or some other life-changing loss. Grief can also be sorrow for something that someone has done or failed to do.”

Loss is devastating and it brings pain. Some people know how to express their feelings while others keep it all inside, but that does not mean that the pain is greater or less. God knows our hearts and our minds before we even speak it.

Speaking for me and my family, we have suffered loss in many of these areas and we are trying to push through life with a smile all the while our hearts are in a million pieces. Some people hide pain very well, while others wear it on their faces like a flashing billboard. I think I personally fall somewhere in between. I try to make sense of it all and try to be comforting to those around me but sometimes I just don’t know what to say or do. Sometimes I think we just need someone to be in the same room with no words spoken, sometimes we need a hug, sometimes we need to be able to talk about our pain with no judgement AND sometimes we just need to scream!!!!! What we don’t need is judgement from our friends and family members. Everyone deals with loss and grief in their own personal way and not one person can tell you the right way or the wrong way because it is just that, personal.

There are many people in the Bible who suffered loss and we can read about their struggles:

David was troubled and battled deep despair.

Elijah was discouraged, weary, and afraid.

Jonah was angry and wanted to run away.

Job suffered through great loss, devastation, and physical illness.

Moses was grieved over the sin of his people.

Jeremiah wrestled with great loneliness, feelings of defeat, and insecurity.

Even Jesus Himself was deeply anguished over what lay before Him.

The hope we have is in Jesus, the knowledge and comfort in knowing He has walked the path before us and with us, beside us. He was there in the good days and in the dark days too. He didn’t condemn them for their questions and pain. He didn’t tell them to just tough it out. He reached down to their deepest pit of suffering, and lifted them out. He cared. He showed compassion. He offered mercy. He brought hope. He instilled purpose. He gave victory. And He still works in the same way today. He will never waste the seasons of suffering we face, but will use it, in some way, to bring good, to instill purpose, to help others, and to make us stronger. 

Our world desperately need joy-givers, hope-bringers, those in our lives who will help us remember what real grace is and where lasting help is found.

The greatest truth is this, we have a Savior who understands our pain, who knows about every weakness and hurt, and reaches out with compassion and hope. 

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Ps. 34:18

Go ahead and read that verse over and over and over again. HE loves us. Wouldn’t it be nice if we loved each other the same way? Wouldn’t it be nice if our family and our friends offered words of compassion and understanding instead judgement and condemnation?

Boy doesn’t it seem that when you are at your lowest and you think you can’t take anything else, low and behold someone who you thought had your back, who you thought was a loyal friend kicks you right in the gut? Why are some people so eager to take joy in other people’s loss? Why are some people so arrogant that they think they have the right to tell you how to feel, how to grieve, how to forgive, how to move on. Just one more lesson to teach us not to rely on humans but to put our trust in the Lord. He ALWAYS has our back. “Humans” will disappoint you every. single. time.

LORD, help me to love humans through the pain.

xoxoxoxo Love ya Peaches!!!!