BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN

One month ago today I handed my precious little girl over into the hands of God.  Over the last few weeks I have read several books on the topic of mourning.  One of the things I read is that holding a child as they die is the one of closest moments you are to God because that child's spirit goes from your arms directly into the arms of Jesus.  As Emma-Grace's mom, I choose to believe that.  I am so grateful that God brought that beautiful ray of sunshine into our lives.  I am more grateful that, as hard as it was to let her go, He allowed me to be there when she took her last few breaths and He called her home.

If we live long enough we all will be touched by grief in some way.  It may be something we know is going to happen or it can come suddenly and without warning.  Grief can affect anyone: young, old; rich, poor; male or female.  If you live in this world it is certain that grief will enter your life one day if it hasn't already.

When Emma-Grace was sick I said that it would be so easy to crawl up into a ball and become nonfunctional.  Seeing her in the hospital and sick for three months was one of the hardest things I have ever faced.  I can now say grieving her has been just as hard, if not harder. 

Satan would like nothing more than for grief to destroy us. However God doesn't want us to let grief control our lives.  He cares about our hurts and pains.  God gave His son so that we might have life.  Not only did He send His Son to die on the cross to save us from our sins, He also sent Him to help bear our grieves and pains.  God knew our lives would be touched by heartaches that would be too great for us to bear.  As a result, He sent His son to help carry those pains for us so that the weight of them would not crush us when they came.  God not only hears our cries but "understands" how we feel and gives us the peace that we desperately need. 

God made us the way we are.  Part of being human is that we are built with different emotions.  Grief is one of the things God allows us to feel in order for us to work through our loss.  His own son, Jesus suffered grief.  In the Bible when Lazarus died it says that Jesus wept. God cares about our loss.  He wants us to pour out our hearts to Him.  The Bible says "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." Psalms 62:8

God is touched by our hurts.  He cares about our pains.  He understands our grief and provides peace, joy and strength when we need it.   As a Christian we must remember that God truly "understands" grief because He has suffered loss Himself.  He watched His own son die.  The loss of a loved one can be excruciating, however if we turn to God, He can bind our broken hearts and bring peace and healing once again.  He is the Comforter, and He can comfort us during our times of grief.   Praise God that He not only understands how we feel, but He also cares about how we feel.  He can bring us through our time of loss and even make something beautiful out of it, if we only allow Him to.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  Matthew 5:4