Sorrow, Grace, Love

My friend Rachael said it best in a text to me.  "What a hard, rough, DUMB week!!!"  I had to laugh a little at the simplicity of her statement but it was ever so accurate.  Last week was a dumb week,  packed with emotion and heciticness and attitude and inadequacy.

The too familiar ebb and flow of grief-- we felt it in our own hearts and witnessed it in those we love so much--was nearly palpable  There were rivers of tears.  There were smiles too, smiles over cherished memories, smiles that didn't quite reach the eyes, smiles that didn't give way to laughter.  Not yet.  Someday, but not right now, not when grief is so very raw.

We shook our heads in disbelief as sorrow was compounded by more sorrow, loss upon loss, grief upon grief.  We railed on God a bit and wondered at his plan which, right now, seems upside down and backward.  We searched for words but found none.  We longed to help but were helpless.
 
Still, somehow, somewhere, in the midst of all the sadness, there was beauty.  We witnessed love in action.  We gained an even deeper appreciation for our church family.   We saw the brokenhearted held and comforted by arms that the human eye cannot see.  We held tight to the hope that we have of  heaven. We entertained mental images of our little girl being swung around in her uncle's arms.  We saw grace poured out. We observed strength in the brokenness.

At week's end, we celebrated Valentine's Day, a day of love, with those we love most.  The one's who know our imperfections, our weaknesses, our failures and love us anyway. Love felt even more precious with the fresh, aching awareness of how quickly life can end.  We didn't celebrate with flashy or fancy.  Just simple and quiet because we know that when all is said and done, when life ends, it's the simple that we cherish most.

  Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted

Matthew 5:4

God is good, all the time