Dealing with grief is perhaps one of the hardest things that we, as humans, must do. Grief may be rooted in a death or illness, or it may be rooted in a loss, such as the loss of support, the loss of a spouse through divorce, the loss of a job, or even the feelings of abandonment that parents often go through as they realize they must allow their children to grow up. The focus of the upcoming 8 devotionals, that will be appearing in the next 8 Saturday editions of The Nugget, will be on how to deal with the grief. The first two devotionals focused on the grieving cycle, and these last eight will teach us important lessons about grief from specific and personal experiences of Nugget Writers. Our prayer is that you will be blessed by this series, and that somehow, whatever it is you are grieving, the lessons presented here will help you to get through.
In Dealing with Grief Part 2, we learned how important it is to trust God in every stage of the grieving cycle. We need to seek His help to forgive, spend time with Him, bask in His glory, and we need to open our ears to His reassurance and to His comfort! In so doing, He will carry us through, and He will put together the broken pieces into something beautiful! Today’s devotional will take us through some personal experiences of one of the Nugget Writers, Sally Kennedy:
IN THE VALLEY
“I will not leave you as orphans but will come to you…..” (John 14:18)
Let’s face it. There are times, when we walk through situations and seasons in our lives, when we are lonely. We even feel very much alone. No one is exempt. It’s just part of life. In these past few weeks I have been walking through one of these valleys. At times, loneliness has quietly crept up and unexpectedly pounced on me. Sometimes seemingly from out of nowhere, sort of like being hit with a wave.
Even though I have felt lonely at other times, I haven’t been in this valley before. Many, many relatives and friends, some I don’t even know, have consoled, comforted, supported, and greatly loved me during this time. Countless kindnesses, prayers, and blessings. Yet some things we hold close, in our hearts, and they belong to no man except us.
I would rather be on a mountain top experience. I love those seasons. Yet I’ve learned most of life is lived somewhere in-between. And I’ve learned it’s all good. And, it’s all a gift.
All the years my dad lived alone, after mom died, I would often say to him, “I don’t like you being alone on Sundays (or a holiday, or birthday)” and he would always say, “I’m not alone! Jesus is right here with me.” He said it so often, that the reality of that finally began to sink in. In every way, Jesus was his companion, there at the house, right there with him.
As I’ve thought about this, the beautiful beloved 23rd Psalm came to mind, where David says, Even though I walk through the valley …….You are with me.
We all have been, or will be, in a valley season during our life journey. It is beautiful beyond belief, and peaceful beyond our finite mind’s comprehension, to know and sense the truth of the words in the Bible that bring comfort and healing.
In the valley I may feel lonely, but am I alone? Not really; Jesus is with me. He’s right here with me.
Sally I. Kennedy*
And what is the message that we need to carry with us when we are dealing with grief? Just this: We may feel totally alone when we go through our grief, but we are never really alone. God is always there with us, carrying us through. All we need to do is rely on Him. Please join us next Saturday, for Dealing with Grief, Part 4: GRIEF!
* Sally Kennedy is a songwriter, the creator of Poppy the Penguin® preschool music videos, and the author of Irish Thursdays: More Little Parables, Words from the Heart, and 52 Little Parables from Ireland . She lives in south Florida, with her husband Ben. Please visit her website: http://www.sallyikennedy.com Email: sallyikennedy@bellsouth.net
(To access the entire “Dealing With Grief” mini-series, please click here.)