I am only one of a group of writers who trusted the LORD to give us words to touch and encourage hearts through a 3-week series about grief at vinetobranches.com. Below is an introduction I shared on their site today.

swept along with the tide

the force of the current

making it hard to stand still

to find firm footing

to catch a breath

time has rushed past

like the scenery in the wake

life has happened around you

and you’ve missed it

raw emotion brimming

quiet tears breaking into uncontrolled heaves

then nothing at all

just a numb paralysis

a blank stare

the sadness is real

disoriented and confused

blindsided and achingly empty

surrounded by the rushing waters

exhausted and defeated

unsure of what to do next

you want out of the torrent

grasping for anything to hold onto

that will pull you from the current

and set you on a quiet bank

to breathe

to process

to receive comfort

to heal

to rediscover hope

. . .

This is one glimpse of grief.  It is nearly impossible to quantify, to describe, to capture.  A quick search for a formal definition yields very little: only “deep sorrow.”

Grieving is our response to loss.  In many forms.  The impact of those losses spans the gamut of intensity.

Someone or something we treasure has been taken from us. There is a gaping hole where that person, that role, that dream, that condition once lit up our days, filled us with joy or vision, sparked passion or creativity, breathed life and color and hope into our gaze – around us in any given day or ahead to the future. And now it is gone.

There is no way to prepare ourselves for loss, or to anticipate our response to those losses. There is no way to chart a path through a season of grief. We are advised to let it take its own course, to grant ourselves permission to be wherever we are on the journey at any given time, to let sorrow do its perfect work in its own time and way.

Sounds rather hopeless.  Dark.  Lonely.  Despairing.

BUT GOD.  

May we never forget that there is One who is intimately acquainted with grief.  He sees our tears.  He feels our despair.  He understands what seems senseless to us.  He longs to draw near.

. . .

your Comforter has never left your side

He offers His hand to lift you

from the raging swells

a tender embrace

a safe retreat

to sort through it all

protection from the torrent

time and space 

to weep

to heal

dear soul, reach for His touch

strain to hear His whisper

let Him care for you

with truth that steadies you

love that wraps and holds you

wonder that leaves you in awe

hope that breathes new life

a pulse of belief

He will carry you

to a brighter day

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted. He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (Psalm 34:18)