Grief as a Resident

 Loss Brings Sorrow.

The petite four-year-old child lost her favorite doll, and she cried with sadness. Her heart is broken. Her mom bought her another doll, but she never forgets the one who meant so much to her. The little one lives with grief.

A wife kissed her husband goodbye as he deployed for his latest mission. She fears the doorbell will ring, and she will find a Military Chaplain standing outside with a sad look on his face. Days go by. The military personnel knock on the door, and without a word, the wife knows. She lives with grief.

The man loves his PTSD dog and names him Otis. He slept with Otis for thirteen years. But the time came when Otis had to cross over the rainbow bridge. The man lives with grief.

A couple celebrated sixty years of marriage, but cancer claimed the wife. The husband lives with grief.

The mother and adult daughter once
shared a sweet friendship, but an unfortunate incident divided them. Although they live in the same town, they haven’t spoken in thirty years.  They live with grief.

The man of the young woman’s dreams decided to call off the engagement. The thrown-aside female lives with grief.

A hurricane blew through the southern states leaving multitudes homeless. The inhabitants live with grief.

In the cases above, the death of a loved one brought about grief. In other instances, misfortune caused grief.

Academics say torrid, agonizing grief can last a year, and then it begins to fade into acceptance. Everyone’s journey with grief is different, but all who live with sorrow share common feelings.

Among the emotions the Grief Resident brings are these: Numbness. Anger. Denial. Confusion. Sleep trouble. Appetite problems. Depression. Profound sadness.

Our daughter declined daily for ten years with dementia. We lived with grief during those ten years. Now that her struggle is over, grief continues to exist with us.

Will it end in a year as the academics say?

I have no idea, but even if it does dissipate, and I’m no longer living with acute sadness, I know grief will find its way back to me again. It’s called life, and life brings farewells to all of us. Whether it is to a loved one, a treasured home, health, divorce, or bankruptcy.

Rain and sunshine exist together.

So! Is there hope for this New Year? Yes! Of course there is hope. His name is Jesus, and He comforts us and helps us through horrendous times. If you haven’t invited Him into your life, now is a good day to meet Him.

My husband ran across this beautiful verse, and I have it taped to the computer. It is from the Living Bible.

“After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you His eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever.”  I Peter 5:10.

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