The Gift of Grief - Dinner #82

How can there be any “gift” in grief? The Psalmist David wrote the difficult words, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes . . .” (Psalm 119:71)

This weekend, it will have been a month – a month since we pulled out of the hospital parking lot, with a final “farewell” to Baby Finlay.  And, in these days that have followed, the Lord has placed such a burden on my heart for the ladies who go through such loss without the comfort of God’s Word.  Amid the tears, I have been compiling a booklet; one written for my own healing, as well as for the healing of others.  How do we find “peace in our pain”?  How do we “live in the waves”?  How do we “look ahead” to a brighter tomorrow, when a grief has taken place?  Verse after verse of Scripture, and words from my own heart to those going through a similar sorrow.  As you read this, I ask that you please send up a prayer for our future ministry, as I seek this booklet’s publication.  It would mean the world to me, to see this accomplished, before we head for the field - To be able to stop by the hospital, where we’ve said “goodbye” to two of our own Little Ones, and leave behind a box of writings filled with HOPE.   

Psalm 139:9-10 declares “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” Even when residing in overwhelming seas, God is there.  “When sorrows like sea billows roll . . .”, God is there.  There is no level of darkness that the light of God cannot touch.  To Him, “the night shineth as the day.” (Psalm 139:12)

My last blog post, telling of our “second sorrow”, had an overwhelming amount of page views . . . There are so many in this world who know the pain of losing a baby in the womb.  If you are one of them, I want to reach across the typed words and give you a hug, right now.  Amid the smiles and the tears of life, may we all pray with the Psalmist David, “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1)  I WILL . . . I will love You, secure in the knowledge that nothing can take away Your own love for me.  I will trust You, even when I do not understand.  I will thank You, knowing that my baby is safe in the arms of Jesus.  I will find hope in You – hope for this hour, this day; hope for the future ahead of me; hope for all eternity.  And even in the “valley of the shadow of death”, I will GLORIFY Your Name. Psalm 96:2 “Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.” We are put here on this earth for just one purpose – to glorify our Father in Heaven.  Even in our loss, we can bring God glory - If we comfort others with “the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted” . . . If we point others to the cross . . . If we let beauty rise from ashes . . . And if in our sorrow, we offer Him our praise . . .