“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

                                                                                    Psalm 38:14

Have you ever thought about why grieving is one of the most painful experiences we go through? I think it’s because grieving involves the loss of someone or something we love. And love is the strongest emotion we feel.

Every experience of grief is different, because every relationship is different, and each loss affects every person in a unique way. And I’m not just talking about the grief of someone dying. We grieve many different things because over the course of a lifetime, we lose many things. The loss of a relationship. The loss of our ability to do things we used to do. The loss of health or wealth or anything else we once had.

But no matter what it is that we lose, grief itself is universal. And painful. It blindsides you when some memory or sight or sound or smell hits you out of the blue. And you cry and get sad all over again. And every time that happens, you wonder if you’ll ever feel happy again.

But you will. It may not be – no, it WILL not be – in the same way you once did. Your life and your perspective on life and your ability to cope with life have all changed. And that means the way you define “normal” has changed as well. And your life will never be “normal” again, at least not in the way it once was before the loss.

But it can be happy again. You can find joy in the memories and in a new tomorrow as you allow hope to creep back in. The Psalmist tells us the God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. You just have to let Him in.

Is it easy? No. But little by little, day by day, week by week, as you open back up to life on the other side of the loss, God is waiting to move back in and help you reclaim the joy of living, even if that living is different than it once was.

Don’t deny your grief. But don’t give in to the feeling that the intensity of the event will always remain. Set your eyes on Him, and He will walk with you through the grief.

Father, comfort us when our hearts break, and let us feel the comforting presence of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.