“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” -John 16:20
This week as we approach Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn to those we love and those we have lost. Last week my husband Bob lost his Aunt Shirley. Shirley was the younger sister of Bob’s Dad. We received a message that Aunt Shirley left this world quietly, peacefully ~ in her sleep.
So many things are different as we prepared to celebrate Aunt Shirley’s life. With the pandemic of 2020 we were not able to travel to Missouri to celebrate and honor her life in person. Instead, we were blessed with the gift of technology so that we could view Aunt Shirley’s service online. Her memorial service was live streamed from the church she loved. We were able to hear the old hymns that were played so tenderly on the piano and violin. We were able to see the beautiful church and hear the emotion in people’s voices as they shared about Aunt Shirley’s life. Yet one important element was missing ~ faces. We were able to see a few faces, albeit masked, as they shared eloquently about what Aunt Shirley meant to each of them. But there were also faces we could not see and those present at her service could not see ours.
Faces… grief has many faces. Grief enters our world uninvited, sometimes with a whisper and sometimes with a shout. Grief reminds us that what we once thought of as stable and certain has been abruptly ripped away. We may be surrounded by people yet feel alone ~ swallowed up by the intense waves of our grief. We feel isolated yet there is a face that stands with us in the midst of our grief. The face of Jesus. When He walked the earth He was well acquainted with sorrow and grief.
This initial face of grief is just the start of our journey. It gives way to the face of mourning ~ the process by which we express our grief.
H. Norman Wright shares,
Everyone has grief, but mourning is a choice.
This face of grief is unique to each person. There is no right way, wrong way, or timetable with grief. The faces of grief are not linear; we find ourselves moving back and forth through the shadows of mourning. We wonder when the journey will end.
The faces of grief are heavy. They can weigh us down and deaden our senses. We will all be different because of our grief. Yet grief can be a great teacher. The lessons we learn can alter our journey with God ~ deepening the intimacy and comfort we share with our Savior.
Let your spirit yield to the faces of grief. Tears, anger, despair, questions… they all do their work. Grief is normal, natural, and necessary. It is the expression of great love. The many faces of grief ~ they move us forward in our journey ~ as we take one step closer to see Jesus ~ face to face.