TeamDavis

musings on marriage, faith and life

More on Grief, Loss & Sorrow August 14, 2010

Filed under: faith — hokiecaryn @ 12:50 am
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Wow, what an inviting topic for a post. I won’t be apologetic though.

Many smarter, wiser, and experienced people have gone before me in this journey of entering grief, loss and sorrow; for them I am thankful.  Beginning almost 10 years ago now, before experiencing (or recognizing and dealing with) my own grief, loss and sorrow, I tried entering into some authors and people’s lives on these topics.  It felt foreign to me until I was able to recognize my own journey in them, and connect with my own personal experiences.

Scott and I shared several posts around Easter of last year reflecting on difficult pain and suffering, and God: Haiti & Suffering, Dallas Willard on never tasting death, and reflections from women who have lost a child. Those are all good to revisit.

In the past, when someone was hurting  I would keep them at arm’s length, say “I’m sorry”, and then try to say something positive and move on.  I know how trite and unhelpful this was, but it was my initial response in my ignorance. Having journeyed deep into grief, loss and sorrow, I now have a little more understanding of why “they” encourage you to offer a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on and an open door to talk. And to offer silence, without answers. (more…)

 

On Grief, Loss and Sorrow August 13, 2010

Filed under: faith — hokiecaryn @ 3:51 am
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It’s the middle of the night. I’m awake and can’t get back to sleep.

Neither can my son apparently.

Instead of agonizing about not sleeping (since I’d already done this for about an hour) I got up to write. Tonight triggered me into deeper thinking on topics I have resisted recently. Topics that aren’t really pleasant to think about, feel, or share — sorrow, grief, loss.

I actually ran across a saved draft of a post that I never finished. Since I wrote the text below almost 3 years ago, hopefully it’s safe to share at this odd hour.

This was what I wrote to an email-group of parents dealing with grief that I was moderating at the time (another story). These parents shared in a common grief, and to be a part of their sharing together was awkward at first, but I found it most humbling and educating to be invited into their pain and their search for light in dark places. In the year of 2009, I had my own very dark places to trod.  Remembering my previous experience with others’ grief helped me tremendously. I’ll share what this group inspired me to pen almost 3 years ago as I tried to encourage them in their own grief journeys. (more…)

 

you will never taste death April 11, 2009

Filed under: books, music, media,faith — Scott @ 6:41 pm
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cross gravestone“Truly, truly, I say to you,
if anyone keeps my word,
he will never taste death.”
-Jesus, John 8:51

Well that’s certainly a nice sentiment. Of course it’s not really true, I mean everyone dies, right? Since the time when Jesus rose from the dead, everyone who has lived, died, and everyone who has died, stayed dead.

Well, maybe it has some kind of nice but smaller metaphorical meaning. Perhaps Jesus is saying that those who keep his word will not experience terrible tragedy. That has a nice comforting ring to it — we all want to believe that if we obey Jesus (or at least do our best) we will be protected from the bad things of life. Unfortunately that belief system breaks down quickly when you meet people who love God, follow Jesus more closely that you could ever hope to, and yet experience great pain and suffering. Besides, Jesus himself said that “in this life you will have great troubles and trials.”

So much for the sentimentality.

Then what could Jesus possibly mean by such a bald statement as “if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death”? (more…)

 

 
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