Comfort - II

Comfort, the expression of love we desperately need, yet rarely talk about. We all suffer loss, it often comes unannounced, it's always significant and it affects us more deeply than we allow ourselves to acknowledge. 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
​You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (Matthew 5:4 NIV/Message)

When we suffer loss we need to be able to mourn that loss. Let me try and define how I see grief and mourning. Grief is the onslaught of emotions that we face in the teeth of our loss: bereavement, immeasurable pain, anger, fear, paralysis, despair, hopelessness. These emotions (and all the others I've not mentioned) are all valid and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Mourning is our journey through the grief   and our coming to terms with all these conflicting emotions. It's facing them, acknowledging that they are (very) real and then giving yourself time to walk through them. My friend, Jane Trentham, says: "allow yourself to go to the 'ouch' moment". That's not easy, it can be very painful but it's also the start of the journey that leads to healing. 

It's on that journey of mourning, as we process the pain of loss and the deep experience of grief, that we are comforted. How long does it take? It takes as long as it takes and you mustn't rush, as, in your haste, you will bury your grief and it will only surface at another time (probably more forcefully and when you least expect it). 

There is, however, a beautiful promise of redemption and restoration which I'll look at next week. In the meantime, once again, come to the Father and ask him to wrap you in his arms of love and comfort you.