RSS

Category Archives: Links

I Don’t Have to Say Goodbye!

(Originally published on Facebook 12/5/14)

Love this song – it fills a spot in this grieving heart. This morning I happened to reread a journal entry I wrote July 10th. I was in a contemplative mood, I guess, because I wrote, “I get the impression that within the Christian community we believe the presence of peace equates to the absence of pain and sorrow. True peace, as I understand it, is the absence of fear – not the absence of pain, sorrow, anger, frustration, and a multitude of other emotions.” I can only think of one place in my Bible where God told someone not to mourn – Ezekiel 24: 15-27 – and as in everything else God does, there was a purpose. Ezekiel’s failure to grieve in the outward manner that was typical of the day, served as a powerful sign to the House of Israel. His unexpected, and obedient behavior ensured the prophecy God had given would be heard and remembered.

I thought I’d include the lyrics here. Words are important to me, Getting them right, matters. I think I’d change “I will shoulder the blame” to “I will shoulder the pain”, but then no one asked me!

I also added a few more comments after the lyrics – if you’ve managed to read this far, you might as well read those too!

Lyrics:

Sometimes your world just ends
It changes everything you’ve been
And all that’s left to be
Is empty, broken, lonely, hoping
I’m supposed to be strong
I’m supposed to find a way to carry on
And I don’t wanna feel better
And I don’t wanna not remember,
I will always see your face
In the shadows of this haunted place
I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky
But I will not say goodbye
They keep saying time will heal
But the pain just gets more real
The sun comes up each day
Finds me waiting, fading, hating, praying,
If I can keep on holding on
Maybe I can keep my heart from knowing that you’re gone
And I don’t wanna feel better
I don’t wanna not remember
I will always see your face
In the shadows of this haunted place
I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky
But I will not say goodbye
I will curse, I will pray, I will re-live everyday
I will show through the blame
I’ll shout out your name
I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky
But I will not say
Will not say goodbye
I will not say goodbye
I will not say…

It’s true, sometimes I don’t want to feel better – but, not all the time. It is also a comfort to know that I don’t have to say good-bye. As a believer in Christ, in spite of pain in the loss, I Do Not Grieve As One Without Hope! Therefore, See you soon is far more accurate than good-bye or as the ever bouncy Tigger of Winnie the Pooh fame (the first known individ . . . er, cartoon character, known to use “chat speak” in everyday conversation) was known to say, TTFN – Ta ta for now!

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Faith, Grief, Links

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rest Ministries – Needing & Accepting Help

restministries

http://restministries.com/2014/08/difficult-need-accept-help/

Needing help is definitely humbling and yet it’s greatest blessing is the opening of spiritual eyes to see the nail scarred hands that prompted those around you to meet needs, and extend kindness and comfort that reaches far beyond the gift offered or act of service rendered. Brings to mind Psalm 8:4, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Beyond all human comprehension somehow His response has been a sincere and quiet, “Mine. The apple of My eye.”

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Chronic Illness, Faith, Grief, Links

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Triumph Over Adversity

(Facebook Post 5/23/15)

With heartfelt thanks to Grant Johnson of Blue Horizon Productions – a clear look at what I like to refer to as “Gracen’s Moment of Triumph Over Adversity.”

https://vimeo.com/128670958

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Johnny Shelton – America’s Got Talent

(Facebook Post 5/28/15)

An awesome performance by a grieving father/songwriter. I watched with baited breath just hoping the song was as awesome as his love for his son – and it was – it definitely was!!!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Grief, Links, Music

 

Tags: , , , ,

Father’s Day

(Facebook Post 6/21/15)

For David on yet another Father’s Day filled with joy and longing. You are an awesome Dad! Happy Birthday to Cole who has never been and will never be forgotten – you are loved and missed. We are looking forward with great anticipation to the day the Lord and your sisters will introduce us to our son. And for the many fathers out there who experience the repeated and painful losses of anticipated moments of fatherhood – who often stand on the sidelines celebrating lost moments with joy, a touch of sorrow and a surprising lack of bitterness as friends, family and strangers enjoy them firsthand. You are all a unique kind of brave.

http://stillstandingmag.com/2015/06/losses-fathers-day/

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Grief, Links

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Just Stand Up

For the hard days . . . When you need a hero . . . A miracle . . . He lives within you – His strength is perfected in your weakness – that’s how you become your own miracle – the Holy Spirit’s all sufficient grace at work within!

Just Stand Up (partial lyrics)

“The heart is stronger
Than you think
It’s like it can go
Through anything
And even when you think
It can’t it finds a way
To still push on
Though

Sometimes
You want to run away
Ain’t got the patience
For the pain
And if you
Don’t believe it
Look into
Your heart
The beat goes on

I’m tellin’ you
Things get better
Through
Whatever
If you fall
Dust it off
Don’t let up
Don’t you know
You can go
Be your own miracle
You need to know

Chorus:
If the mind
Keeps thinking
You’ve had enough
But the heart
Keeps telling you
Don’t give up
Who are we to be
Questioning
Wondering what is what
Don’t give up
Through it all
Just stand up”

(Facebook Post 10/8/15)

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Links, Music

 

Tags: ,

Art Form Analogy

kintsugi3kintsugi2kintsuti1kintsugi4

Follow the link in red! Follow the Link! You’ll be glad you did!

How to Find Beauty in Brokenness

Loved the analogy of the Japanese art form, Kintsugi. What a beautiful picture of what God does in a broken believer’s heart and life.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Faith, Links

 

Tags: , ,

Spiritually Wounded After Loss | Wild Feathers Wellness

photo-1439902315629-cd882022cea0-600x926

Last weekend we took a little family road trip, and some things just happen in car rides. Who can explain it? Maybe it is the absence of distractions, presence of intimate spacing and of course, time. I love road trips for this reason.

On the way home, I found myself in a full-blown meltdown in conversation with my husband. It wasn’t what he was saying, it’s what I wasn’t saying. It was what I was afraid of admitting. How far I had drifted. How my heart had grown cold, and nobody knew it, not really. I convinced myself since I had found “happy” again, my kids were healthy, and I wasn’t falling apart every week; things were okay. I was okay. But being “okay” can have a thousand different definitions. Grieving people know that best, I think.

(Click on the link in red below to read the full article.)

http://http://www.wildfeatherswellness.com/spiritually-wounded-after-loss/

Comments to the above article from my Facebook post 9/9/15:

Ah yes, the spiritual wounds lurking beneath or hiding among the deep grief, sorrow and pain of loss. I’m amazed this woman managed to partition out that portion of her heart whereas I have constantly wrestled with how to address reconciling my spiritual wounds and the damage done to my relationship with Christ. Psalm 139:7-12 expresses the comfort and the torment inherent in God’s constant presence well:

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,

12 Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.”

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Faith, Grief, Links

 

Tags: , ,

Trauma, Spirituality & Suffering

I came across this article, “Spirituality and Suffering Through the Four Phases of Change” by Patricia A. Fennell, back in April of this year. Reader be warned – it’s a professional abstract, so its designated audience was not intended to include non-professionals outside the field of psychology. But it’s readable and informative and answers a question I’ve been struggling to put into words, let alone internalize the resulting answer. You see, I’ve been wondering how the average person’s faith is affected by trauma, especially when a person experiences a series traumas. I guess I want to know what a “normal” Christian response to trauma is and how far from the norm I fall.

There’s a lot of information available about how people cope with grief or trauma individually but I wanted to know how those things specifically affect a person’s faith and for me, personally, how it affects a person’s relationship with Christ. I think we tend to lump those things together, since, for the Christian, a relationship with Christ is the foundation of faith. However, I have found in the wake of our accident, that my core beliefs have not changed, but how I interact with Christ has been impacted.

Regardless, I thought some of you might be interested in this article because you have suffered through your own traumas or because you care deeply about someone who has had that experience. Maybe it will help someone to know that how they feel is completely normal and maybe it will help a friend or family member feel less fearful as they watch a loved one wrestle with their beliefs.

So, I hope this article blesses someone out there this Memorial Day – the day set aside to acknowledge and appreciate the ultimate sacrifice made by the men and women who protect our country and preserve our freedoms.

(Facebook Post 05/25/15)

Just click on the link in red below to go to the article.

http://www.albanyhealthmanagement.com/GC-Spirituality-2012-paper.pdf

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Faith, Links

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

John Piper – Letter to a Parent Grieving the Loss of a Child

John Piper got this exactly right and although it was written especially to address a mother grieving the loss of a stillborn child, he addresses issues true for anyone who grieves the loss of a loved one. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/letter-to-a-parent-grieving-the-loss-of-a-child

(Facebook Post 9/8/15)

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 22, 2015 in Faith, Grief, Links

 

Tags: , , , , ,