Grief...an Avenue of Growth

I am still in Palmer Lake, CO at Mission Training International. When I saw this morning's topic I knew there was potential for all those feelings and emotions that I don't like to feel to surface. And, I was right. But, it didn't happen right away. We first searched the Scriptures to see what they have to say about grief. This is some of what they say:Weep with anguish of soul and bitter mourning; Weep and wail; Cry out; Wailing loudly and bitterly; Cry out to Me from their hearts;A lament they will chant; Teach your daughters how to wail; Teach one another a lament; compose laments...and on and on...

Our American culture teaches us that after a few days or a few weeks, all should be well. We need to "suck it up & get over it." It has been my experience that whatever "it" is, doesn't go away in a few days or a few weeks or even a few months. It takes quite awhile.

But, if I look to Scripture, it teaches us how to weep, how to mourn, how to grieve. And, many times it is done in community, with the body of Christ. Other than the obvious - during a funeral - I don't think I've ever seen that happen...

Until today. We grieved together. We wrote our laments to Father God. We spoke them aloud. We mourned together. We cried together. We called upon our Abba Daddy God and told Him how we felt about the various areas in our lives where we have experienced grief and loss. And, He was here. He heard each and every one of us. He held us close to His heart. He counted our tears and placed them in a bottle. He put His healing salve on our wounds.

We were on holy ground. It was a sacred time.

As the body of Christ in America, we need to grieve with one another as He teaches us so that we may grow in understanding, compassion and courage in the midst of our losses. We aren't being wimps, we are becoming more like Him.