An Open Letter to Grief

For all of those who are hurting and grieving this Christmas season, know that grief is not the end. The sun will come up again, you must have hope because there is always hope, ALWAYS!

Dear Grief,
You have found me despite my hopes to escape you. You have become a travelling companion through this journey of life, but never a friend.

You are the proverbial glass of spilled milk, happening when most inconvenient, spilling all over me and my home. You splash and roll into unexpected places, hiding for me to find as I go about my every day work, clinging to ordinary items and ringing them with painful recollection. Left unaddressed, your spill begins to smell and turn the stomach, causing disorientation, upset, and regret. Crying over you changes nothing, but in tears I can wash you away, I can shine the marred surfaces and begin anew. In tears I may respond but I am not vanquished, you have not won.

In the end, these three remain, hope, faith, and love--the greatest of these is love. I am loved by my Beloved, and by those for whom I mourn. For without love what is there to grieve? Because I have love, I have faith. Faith that my tears will turn to joy, my weeping to dancing in my Father's Kingdom. From my faith, I have hope, a hope no one can kill, a hope no pain can squelch.

I am not abandoned, I am not alone, you will never make me an orphan. I am a daughter of the King of Kings and His Reign will never end. He has prepared a place for me, and filled my heart with grace, washed my soul with peace that surpasses all understanding.

I will never be your slave, I have been bought at a price, ransomed to His own, exaulted by His Holy Hand. He has sent His angels to minister to me, with legions of heavenly armies goes before me, and stands behind me through the valley of darkness to the mountain of plenty.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. Through the familiar carols laced with bittersweet recollections, is the story of my past, present, and future. Your hold on my heart is illusion, your power over my emotions a fleeting whimsy. I have been promised the Kingdom and you have already been destroyed.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!! His Joy is my strength, and I will rejoice in all things, for tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow again, I will rise up and greet the Son.

In Him,
Jennifer