Hope in the Grieving

Have you noticed something weird lately in your heart or stomach?  An odd ache?  I have.  I mentioned to a friend this weekend that the entire world is grieving.  There is scarcely a soul untouched by fear or concern. Each person I chat with or check in with is going through various stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.  Denial of sickness could happen to them, anger when others don’t follow the rules, bargaining with time saying ‘I’ll do this for this long, if…’, depression over lost opportunities, and even a few at the acceptance stage.  For some the grief is a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach, while others have gone into survival mode. Meanwhile, the grief of losing friends and family, fear of who will catch the virus next, and the lack of an end-date makes the grief inescapable.  Uncertainty taints every single decision.

Uncertainty.

That’s the word.  Most of us felt we had a pretty firm grasp on our lives. Our calendars were filled with work, events, family outings, vacations, and so forth.  Suddenly, a heap of unknowns was dumped into our laps.  Almost like our lives went through a shredder!  Now each person is scrambling to make sense of the moment-to-moment while simultaneously dealing with longterm decisions when there is no way to make sense of anything.  And it is driving us crazy.

We like to know.  Even more than knowing, we want to be in control.  Personally, the inability to control much of anything has led me to an organizing frenzy!   I assume no bin will escape my hand by the end.  We’ve also rearranged furniture and planted flowers, fruits, and veggies. We’ve made a daily schedule to create a new normal.  Others have over-shopped, over-exercised, over-couch potatoed, and over-indulged.  All the while each waiting for someone to tell us to stop-you’ve got to be ready to do such-and-such by this date!  But no one actually knows anything in these swiftly changing times.  Each of us is craving boundaries, controls, and assurances.

All of this brings to mind an old hymn “Blessed Assurance“

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

As a Christian, I do have assurance that God is still on His throne.  I have assurance that my salvation through Jesus Christ is not dependent on my emotions, the economy, or my fears.  I am assured that regardless of what happens to my family here or thousands of miles away, God will make beauty from ashes.

I do not have to be at the mercy of my emotions.  Instead, I will remember I am wrapped in His mercy.  I am not forced to let fear control my steps, but I can use His wisdom and guidance to step confidently.  I can choose to find JOY in the unexpected.  I can decide to rest in His promises.  I will limit my exposure to news and bulk up on reading the Bible.  I am not helpless in these moments, regardless of how I feel.  I will be thankful and take note of those blessings I tend to take for granted.  I also know that grieving is not something I’m doing alone-so I will reach out and heal with others.  Christ has grieved before and I know His heart is breaking in these moments, too.  I will choose to remember there is hope in the grieving.