Praise For a Purpose
With the new school year being just around the corner for some, and already in session for others, a specific kind of grief has been on my mind lately. A lot of times, people think of this time of year as exciting because of the many growth opportunities awaiting so many students, but we often forget to think about the simultaneous sadness that can be felt by many families at this time. A new school year means change and, often, change means grieving what is being left behind.
Around this time, many parens, although excited for their children to grow, are grieving what is being left behind. Be it a childhood bedroom as their young one moves to college, or maybe it is an old stuffed animal that is being let go of as a student advances into middle school. There are also students grieving different things. Some may be grieving the loss of a future they thought they would experience, but their plans did not come to fruition. Others may be grieving the home life they wish they could have, but their family dynamics seem different than the ones surrounding them. And let us not forget the many people grieving change in relationships as a new school year approaches. Many people are separated from their closest friends and many going through breakups because their youthful relationship was not ready for advancement or could not stand the test of time and distance.
Although we know that all of those circumstances are opportunities for growth and, in time, will improve and work out for each individual’s good, it is still important to acknowledge the pain that is being experienced among the joy by many. Even though most people experience grief while growing, we can also acknowledge that there are some people grieving because they do not have the same opportunities to grow, whether it be for financial reasons or physical limitations, and, in another terrible condition, there is a group of parents that grieve because of the loss of their children that will never get the opportunity to grow up and experience life. I can not help but think of the sting they experience each year around this time as social media floods with happy posts.
So what is the encouragement solution? Do we stop the happy posts and focus solely on the sad? Do we skip out on the many joys and celebrations around us so we do not accidentally offend others? No. But what we can do is be mindful of who we are interacting with and what they may be experiencing on a personal level. We can pause and take time to get to know others more deeply, even in simple scenarios like talking genuinely with a server at a restaurant. Within these genuine connections we get to make amidst our own grief, because we are really all grieving something at all times, even though some grief can seem heavier than others, we can be reminded of the reasons we have been given to praise and we can use those reasons to encourage others.
Psalm 103:1-5 gives great reasons and reminders of the reasons we should choose to praise.
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
So, as we enter into this week, let us take the time to acknowledge others in their circumstances, let us pray for those stepping into the new or aching over the old, and let us remind ourselves of the reasons we have to praise because joy is found when we take action and choose to praise the Lord.
