Choosing Life Doesn’t Necessarily Make Things Easier Instantly
I love summer! I love the freedom of non-heavy clothes, the ease of dinners cooked on a grill, the sounds of neighbors who’ve come outside! What I don’t like (in addition to winter!) is sweating – and I’ve been doing plenty of that this week! Why? Because I like flowers! And they need tending! And the sun is out . . .
When you’re walking through grief, it can feel like sweating (or snowing) all the time! There will be moments when it seems like it will never end– when it feels like you are living in two worlds: the world you feel, and that second world you trust will come. You believe God is there, you know He is – yet there are days when you feel the heavy sweat or the deep coldness of aloneness. On those days, and they will come, there are things to remember which will help you leave lonely state and move into the company of what you really do believe:
1. Remember God’s past kindnesses. Recount them over and over. They will remind you that you have a future and a hope!
A few weeks ago, before I celebrated the 32nd anniversary of my husband’s move to heaven, I sat in my bedroom “alone,” grappling with a change in my body that did not bode well in its self-prediction to me. I fully recognized what it “could be,” and then I turned my thoughts to, “Lord, I remember . . . and how You turned it around in a way that just couldn’t have happened on its own!” and “Lord, I remember . . .” and I remembered in detail three incredible moments of my life’s history – separated by 27 years of time – where God intervened and turned life around for me, and peace-filled my being! “You did. . . Lord, and I believe I’ll see it again!” We do sorrow, but we sorrow with hope! This is not all there is!
2. Remember to choose life today. Choosing life doesn’t necessarily make things easier all at once.
The young virgin, Mary, chose to let God’s Word happen in her and endured the stigma of bearing a Son out of wedlock all the rest of her life. Jesus Himself chose to leave heaven to become our Redeemer and was hated by those He’d come to save. Yet both reaped great reward later for the life choices they made! How do you “choose life?” By saying, “Lord, I don’t understand Your ways. I don’t even like them sometimes. But I know You know things I don’t, and based on that, You made decisions that make me feel ripped wide open – I’ll trust Your heart when I don’t get Your actions!”
3. Intentionally keep moving forward. Grief is a normal and natural reaction to loss.
And then take whatever time it takes for you! You’ll have conflicting masses of feelings – there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just reacting to the end of familiar patterns that you didn’t want to end. Keep the Lord involved in all your feelings; don’t hide them from Him or yourself. As long as You keep Him involved you’ll come out alright. You’re normal for where you are.
