Rather than use this post to lament the loss of my daughter, Maria, I want to focus on God's unfailing love to those who grieve.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

I read a post of a Pastor, on the south side of our city reminiscing the daughter he lost 10 years ago. Anyone who has ever lost a child will tell you that the 'anniversary' of their death still remains fresh in the minds of those who loved that person.  

Grief has a way of humanizing people. The scars that remain become a permanent reminder of the existence of their loved one. 

Grief, I've learned, is a universal emotion- something that impacts every living creature.  Anyone who has ever watched a grieving goose as they stood next to their lifeless mate will realize the realities of that statement.  If it is universal, then why are so many people refusing to acknowledge their grief when it occurs? 

Why is it we would rather bury all of the pain by working too much, drinking too much, or just staying busy?  

Why is it that men are incapable of offering comfort to the females in their lives when they are grieving the loss of a person they loved, telling them instead to focus on life's activities than shedding tears of sorrow? 

Why is it we treat grief and sorrow with an anti-depressant than offering a listening ear and encouraging their stories to flow until those stories lose their traumatizing effects on the person?

Why is it we would rather run from God when a loss occurs than too him?

Today marks the anniversary of our families loss of our 10-year-old, Maria.  We wished she was still with us, celebrating her future birthdays and other accomplishments of her life, but because we live in this imperfect world things that shouldn't happen, do.

As I reflect on my grief journey, I marvel at God's lavished blessings that have poured out on my family!  These things are too numerous to mention in one post, but they illustrate to me the importance of trusting God for our pain and putting one foot in front of the other always honoring Him on the Sabbath day regardless of how you feel.

 Out of that commitment, we enjoyed the warm fellowship of our Adult Sunday school class and the prayers of our Life group.  Out of our commitment to serving, each of our family members has embraced a ministry to help others in the body of Christ.

The Christian life isn't about just paying lip service to God on the major holidays of the year, but it is about developing a daily devotional life, always remembering to pray as our need arises. 

Life is like that moving sidewalk we ride on at the Airport.  People we know and enjoy conversations with continuously step off that 'sidewalk' waving to us as their images slowly disappear. As they do, other people will step on that moving sidewalk bringing joy to you with fresh conversations. Life is not only about celebrating life's accomplishments, but it is about saying goodbye to those who step off that moving sidewalk.  Life is about those new friendships we form after our loss.

There is nothing better in life than to embrace our Savior and forming a deeper relationship with Him. Out of our commitment to Christ, we will see God's lavished blessings on our lives and instead of lamenting the person who died we praise God for the few years we had with them!