Tag: grief
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My Rock
Psalm 62:1-2 NIV: Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly, he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. I would call myself a visual person when it comes to my prayer time. Yes, I use words at times, but other times…
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Cast your Cares
Psalm 55:22 NIV: Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. Anyone out there carrying some heavy things? This week’s art is for you. David starts this Psalm with, “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me, and I am distraught.”…
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We had Hoped
Luke 24:21 NIV: “but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel…” I’m reading a very compelling book right now by N.T. Wright’s called “Surprised by Hope”. As he sets the context for his insights about the resurrection, he reminds us that at no point did the disciples have…
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Jesus Wept
John 11:35 NIV: “Jesus wept.” Known in many trivia questions as the shortest verse in the Bible, this verse is paradoxically rich in meaning. The context is everything to understanding this simple statement recorded by John in his gospel writing. Chapter 11 tells us that Jesus’s close friend Lazarus is very sick. Jesus is at…
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Grief as Anger
Job 3:26 NIV: “I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” My ever-evolving series on grief has a new addition today. I think it speaks to the complexity of grief that the series keeps expanding. This particular stage in the grieving process will be familiar to those who’ve spent time…
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I Am With You
Exodus 3:11-12 NIV: But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” “I will surely be with you,” God said. I know what you are thinking—what does this verse have to do with my art piece this week? I am teaching the Book of…
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Shattered
Psalm 34:18: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” A few weeks ago, I was part of a panel discussion on using art in grief. I have several art pieces in a show titled “Mending the Shadows” currently on display at the Vernon Filley Art Museum. As…
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Secondary Loss
I know I said I was done with my grief series, but I had to add one more. Last week, I had the most fantastic experience at the “Mending the Shadows” art opening at the Vernon Filley Art Museum in Pratt, Kansas. The series I did for the show on grief prompted many conversations during…
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Grief Resolution
I considered how I wanted to wrap up this series on grief and landed on where most of us find ourselves today. I can think back to different extreme moments of loss in my life, which helped connect me to the pieces I’ve already done, but I don’t currently spend my days in such deep…
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Grief with Hope (Lament)
Lamentations 3:19-23 NLT: “The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies…
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Grief and Time Distortion
One of the isolating sensations in grief is the distortion of time. I vividly remember, after experiencing my first gut-wrenching loss after the death of a family member, that I couldn’t get over how everyone else was going about their days as usual. I was in college at the time, and when I was back…
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The Waves of Grief
Psalm 42:7 NIV: “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” One of the great explorations of personal grief is the book “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion. Reading her book, speaking to friends who have grieved, and walking through my own…