Maybe it is just the time in life.

Maybe it is the stage of life that I am in.

 

Regardless, there are many people in my village right now whose grief runs deep and wide. And unlike a Lifetime movie, it is jagged and rough.

It is costly and relentless.

It takes its toll

physically,

emotionally,

relationally.

 

And it does not wrap up in a bow in under two hours.

 

 

If you have read any of my blogs, you are aware that I am in it, too – in fits and spurts – and will be indefinitely.

 

On our way to physical therapy today, Bella asked me this question::

 

“Mom – is the end of the world coming soon?”

(As we continued to talk, it was clear that she had been processing some conversations, etc. that had happened over the last couple of months at her Christian school. We love our school. Love it. Bella and I also have an understanding about school in general, which is, learning is fluid and it is as much about the questions as it is about seeking the answers.)

This is how I wanted to answer her question::

“I sure hope so!”

Can you relate?

 

 

In the midst of school shootings, girls abducted from the school and sold as brides, hundreds and thousands of people displaced from their homes, massacres due to religion or gender, there are days where I want to lock myself in my bedroom with a life supply of diet coke and chocolate and spend all of my time listening to the soothing music of Ann Voskamp’s blog and reading her words of comfort.

And thank GOD for Ann Voskamp!

 

 

When my husband was a college student, he took a fascinating course on ethics in media. His professor, world-renowned in his field, told the class that the best way to get the highest viewer and listener ratings is when you create a broadcast, etc. that elicits fear.

Fear.

It’s Powerful.

And Pervasive.

And I have found that when fear and grief marry, they birth something quite horrific and paralyzing. It has actually made me physically sick before.

So, to answer Bella’s question, this voice keeps whispering to me::

“I am not done yet.”

 

To the parent grieving her/his child –
God is not done yet.

To the spouse grieving her/his marriage –
God is not done yet.

To the addict –
God is not done yet.

To the person living in shame over a decision –
God is not done yet.

And to those of us who have looked at another and believed wholeheartedly that we knew what was best for them –
God is not done with US yet.

In the midst of the very real and raw grief,
and sorrow,

be encouraged.

 

For God is not done yet.