Sorrow comes to us in many forms. We might lose a job, or a home, or our health. But nothing hurts more than when we lose a loved one. Waves of grief will come at us like the ocean throwing waves onto the beach. It’s powerful and it can be relentless. So we mustn’t dwell there and allow its current to pull us under. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t grieve. It’s a natural process that even Jesus experienced (see John 11:32-36). We should allow ourselves to feel it, and let its weight help us to work through our thoughts, fears, and tears. Grieving relieves the soul, like exhaling carbon dioxide relieves the body. But there comes a point when we must get up and go on, and that point can be different for everyone. The stages of grief we go through are shock, denial, bargaining, sorrow, and acceptance. Often the stages come in that order, although we might find we switch between two of them for a while, or jump back to one we experienced a while ago. Everybody’s grieving process is different. David said, ‘Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff [of protection] they comfort me’ (Psalm 23:4 KJV). When we get through this valley, we’ll be able to look back with more gratitude and less grief. Instead of focusing on the raw feeling of loss, we’ll be thankful for the experience of knowing the person we’ve lost, and treasure the memories we hold. And don’t be afraid of rare moments of laughter that come even in the face of heartbreak. Laughter soothes the soul and alleviates the tension of those times.
