Even when we are in the throes of grief life is still worth living

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Grief, it seems, can drag on for a very long time. Like walking through a desert we become tired, hungry and thirsty. Our feet soon become painfully aware of the the endless walking with no end in sight.  Every direction we look is endless nothingness. We want to just lie down and simply give up because the physical and the emotional pain becomes unbearable.

 But something within tells us to keep going. So we walk one footprint at a time. Soon we are dragging our feet across the scorched earth one long foot print at a time. Our soul cries out to the God of Abraham to end our suffering. We ask God why he has outdone himself and given us too much to bear? We continue our journey after seeing an oasis where we see and drink water. As the life giving water slips down our parched and thirsty throat we thank the Father of Abraham for providing this much needed liquid.

 Once we gain strength to continue our journey we trudge on to what we hope will be the end goal of our grief. Oh how we want this to be an end.  An end where we can feel at least half way normal like we were before our grief began. 

We cry out to the God of Joseph to help us finish this journey. We cry out with emotional pangs asking God  why we had to be placed on this painful journey? If only you God would have done your part and kept my loved one alive I wouldn't have to leave the amusement park of life and trudge on this God forsaken barren waste land of needless grief. Then you recall verses you have read in the Holy scriptures. 

" I will never leave you, nor forsake you" " 

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength' 

 Those words keep running like a endless tape in your mind. You gain strength to continue and as these verses keep running in your mind your strides in the sand become swifter. Your posture becomes more upright. As you walk taller you can begin to see off in the horizon a beautiful landscape. You see beauty, trees, more water, and friends you haven't seen since your journey began. You pick up speed and now you are jogging because of the beauty you see.  

As you get nearer you hear many songs of encouragement, and many words of wisdom. You feel the gentle hand on your shoulder. You turn your head where you see Jesus.  He is now walking with you and encouraging you to finish the journey. He tells you how he has great plans to use the pain in your life to help others. The sadness you once showed on your face begins to curve upward into a smile.

 As you walk with Jesus you are reminded of His words in the New testament.  He reminds that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and just as he helped them he was going to help you reach your goal of completing this grief. 

As you reach the end of your grief you see a throng of many witnesses trying to congratulate you on finishing the journey.  You hear many voices telling you how much they prayed for you that God would sustain you on the path you were just on. You have now finished the journey and now you soak up the attention and the love of these people. 

Once your strength returns you turn to look in the distance where you see another person walking painfully the path you were once on. You instantly bow your head and pray for God's deliverance for this person. As you pray you are reminded that even in the throes of grief life is still worth living.