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 5, we learned that whatever the nature of the grief you are going through, when you trust God with your deepest worries, no matter what their source, you open the door to His comfort. You allow Him to carry you through! Today’s devotional, brought to us by Sally Kennedy, is not specific to death, as the last few have been; but rather, it looks at trials in general, and how to withstand them:
LIGHTENING STRIKES
“Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.” (Matthew 12:13)
It stood as tall and as straight as all the other trees in the glen. Clearly visible right down the front of the trunk was a deep scar.
Lightning had struck the tree at some point. Slashed its exterior, gouging out a path. Now lightning is a killer. It didn’t kill this tree, however. Nor did it cause it to catch fire and burn up.
No; this tree survived the strike. The wound sealed off, and the scar is the only evidence remaining that it suffered a near death experience.
Not only did it survive, it’s doing great! It is healthy, and leafy. It stands tall and stately in the woods by the hiking trail for many to enjoy.
In our journeys, chances are we have, or will be, struck by “unfriendly fire”. Debilitating diseases, personal and relationship crises…….many things can “hit” us in life.
If we hold on to the Rock, and we stay rooted and grounded in Christ, we can – and will – survive. We might be scarred. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t whole, healed, and happy again.
Lightning does strike…….and God does heal and restore.
That is good news.
Sally Kennedy*
And that’s the secret to dealing with whatever kind of grief you are going through: You need to stay rooted and grounded in Jesus! Please join us next week for Dealing With Grief, Part 7: Making Sense of Life!
* Sally I. 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.)