My heart is heavy this week… for dear friends who have lost a son, brother, husband, father, nephew, friend.  It happened so quickly, in a matter of days.  Unimaginably heartbreaking.

I was touched as I remembered these thoughts:

“There is a special kind of beauty in sorrow.  It means we have felt deeply, loved deeply, and lost deeply. There is a depth of reality and certainty in sorrow.  It is not fake or shallow, but raw and vulnerable. And it is in that tender place that the LORD’s Presence provides such precious awareness of who He is, how His comfort and strength come close when we need them most.  There, we can catch a glimpse of His eternal plans for us, not just the fleeting moments. And it is only the things that touch us that deeply that will change us forever.”

I also found great comfort in these verses from Daily Light this week:

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴.⁣

𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 ⁣

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧.⁣

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 ⁣

𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.⁣

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘌𝘚𝘜𝘚 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, ⁣

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, ⁣

𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵.⁣

𝘑𝘌𝘚𝘜𝘚 𝘸𝘦𝘱𝘵.⁣

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦, ⁣

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩.⁣

𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥.⁣

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.⁣

𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 𝟑:𝟕 • 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝟓𝟑:𝟑 • 𝐇𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝟒:𝟏𝟓⁣

𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟏:𝟑𝟑,𝟑𝟓 • 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝟏𝟒𝟐:𝟑 • 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝟔𝟑:𝟗

the cover of His Presence