Tonight I've been thinking about loss. A dear sweet friend of mine stated that "everyone goes through hard times, but it doesn't seem to be back to back like this." She was referring to a series of illnesses, losses, and heartbreaks within her own family, but it started me thinking, "Hey.. I'm there, too."
And it's true. I can list a myriad of horrifying and heartbreaking circumstances my immediate family has faced from my dad's courageous 8 year fight with cancer that ended with his death in 2010, to 3 miscarriages in my family, the loss of my last 2 grandparents, and a heartbreaking divorce battle that caught everyone (not the least of those, me) by complete surprise.
And it's hard. So, so hard. I often wonder daily how we wake up and face it. And I don't dare diminish my friend's losses in the reflection on my own. Hers are just as numerous and true and real. Which makes me wonder... how many others are suffering silently? How many people do we walk by on a daily basis with no clue (or even concern) about their heartbreak?
1 Corinthians 12:25-26 says, "that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."
We should remember that our brothers and sisters also experience sufferings. This is hard to remember when we are so wrapped up in our own. It's hard to see past our own tears to the tears of others, but we are to show care and concern for one another. We should share in the sufferings of our brothers in order to offer comfort and Godly wisdom. And by the grace of our great God, when we honor one another in experiencing pain, we will come to rejoice together through it.
So that is my prayer, that we will hold each other up in times of trouble, so that we may rejoice together in God's healing.
< 3
No comments:
Post a Comment