Moments of Stillness
Sunday, as I was driving by the exit of my mom's cemetery, something inside me urged me to get over, take the exit, and visit the cemetery. So I did. This is a normal practice for some, but for me, I tend to only have the desire to do this on special occasions, such as Mom's earthly birthday, passing date, etc. There was nothing overly special about today, but I went anyway, stood, reflected, sat, reflected more, wrote, cried, sang, prayed, and pondered. I did not realize that I needed the time and space alone to think about the past and praise God for the present as I seek Him for wisdom in situations I normally would have turned to my mom for.
As I reflect on the last two years of my grief journey, a very brief beginning to something that never ends, I can not help but think of how God loves us so well. I was recollecting these things with a friend on the phone this week and feel compelled to include them in this post. We know that God is our Father, Protector, Counselor, Friend, Healer, and many more things. Above all, we get to cling to Him because we know that He never changes! He always has been these things, is these things today, and will continue being these things even when our days on earth are over.
Psalm 102 sets a great example for us. If you look in your Bible, it will probably have a header similar to, "A Prayer of One Afflicted Pouring Out His Heart to God." This passage is proof that we can pour out our honest thoughts to God at any time because He never changes, He can handle it, and He cares. In this passage, the psalmist cries out to God, begging Him to turn His face to him and give His listening ear as he shares of his distress. The writer expresses his loneliness and bitterness while pointing out the consequences of God's anger. He ends by stating the desired outcome of his cry for help is so that people not yet created (this includes us) would be able to praise God because of His goodness and the attention He chooses to give to the afflicted on earth.
As we enter a week of reflecting on the past and may be facing a future we might not have imagined the way we are having to live it out, let us take this example from the psalmist and choose to cry out to God in our dismay. As stated in posts prior, maybe your grief is of someone who is still living. Maybe your grief is of a life plan you had made that fell through. Maybe your grief is the loss of trust with a friend. Maybe your grief seems to only be important to you and you feel isolated because no one else would want to talk about it, hear about it, or be uncomfortable with it. No matter the circumstance, God cares. God wants to hear. God wants you to seek His face and trust that He does work all things together for our good and His glory. As we continue on this journey called life, I encourage you to listen to the desires you have that arise through out the week. Be it an unplanned cemetery visit, a random phone call to a friend, a card of encouragement to a coworker, or any little thing that comes to mind, do it. It may be that in these small moments of stillness, God uses our time of slowing down as a way to remind us of His goodness, His faithfulness, and His overall care for every detail of our lives.
