Tag: loss
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Comfort
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. Repetitive words in scripture should…
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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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When you…
Isaiah 43:2 NIV: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. The question is never whether you will go through hard…
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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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Sacrifice
Psalm 51:17 NIV “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” Sacrifice is one of those church words that has made its way into our everyday lexicon. You hear stories of athletes who sacrifice everything to train for their sport (especially, as I write this,…
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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…
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Grief as Drowning
Psalm 69:1-3 NASB: “Save me, God, For the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;” One of the things I cherish about scripture is that…