Tag: death

Soften The Heart: Devotional #29 — A Message of Hope for the Grieving

The Wild Gems1 Comment

This Is Not the End: A Message of Hope for the Grieving

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

John 14:2-3

Loss has a way of stopping time. One moment, life is moving forward, full of plans, routines, and expectations. The next, everything changes. A phone call, an accident, a last breath you didn’t realize was the last—and suddenly, the world feels different. Emptier.

When we lose someone unexpectedly, the pain is sharp and disorienting. There’s no time to prepare, no gradual goodbye. Just a void. And in that void, we wrestle with the question that lingers in every grieving heart: Where are they now?

Jesus knew we would ask this. He knew our hearts would ache with longing for those who are no longer with us. And so, He left us with this promise.

This world is not the final destination. Death is not the end of the story.

Jesus is preparing a place. A place where brokenness does not exist, where suffering has no power, where love never fades. A place where those we have lost—those who seemed to slip away too soon—are not truly gone but waiting in a home far greater than this one.

That doesn’t take away the pain of missing them now. It doesn’t erase the ache of their absence. But it does mean that separation is temporary. Love is not lost.

Imagine, just for a moment, that there is more beyond what we can see. That the ones we grieve are not lost in darkness but alive in a way we cannot yet comprehend. That God’s love is big enough to hold them and us, to weave our stories together again in a way more beautiful than we can imagine.

We may not have all the answers. We may not understand why loss comes the way it does. But we can hold onto this:

This is not the end.

There is a place beyond this world, a home beyond this life, and a love that is strong enough to bring us back together again. And one day, when the time is right, we will see them again.

Until then, we carry them in our hearts, and we hold onto hope.

If You’re Grieving, You Are Not Alone

If you’ve experienced a sudden loss, I want you to know that your pain is seen. Your grief is real. But so is hope. Even in the darkness, you are not alone. God is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), and He promises that one day, all things will be made new (Revelation 21:4).

If this message speaks to you, I pray it brings even a small measure of peace. And if you know someone who is struggling with loss, please feel free to share it. You never know whose heart might need this reminder today.

Don’t Spend Too Much Time Trying To Understand, It Will Only Rob You Of Your Peace

The Wild Gems2 Comments

So many things happen in this given life. Good and bad.

It’s the hard, unimaginable things that really kick you in your stomach leaving you unable to catch your breath.

Difficult situations/incidents happen around you, to people you know, people you don’t know, and maybe to you. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be categorized as unimaginable.

Things happen where we just ask why? Why?! We have difficulty understanding.

But one thing I know for certain is that we are never alone. When life happens to you, it has also happened to someone else. Probably even a close friend of yours.

Things happen all the time, all around the world, that leave us confused, curious, wondering…..but if we spend too much time thinking about those things, dwelling in our thoughts, THEY WILL, they will imprison you and rob you of your peace. And could possibly steer you onto a very difficult path.

I know this to be true. And if you swim out too far, it can become impossible to swim back.

Time spent questioning will steal precious moments from you. It’s very challenging to focus on work, your children, your spouse, a project, etc, when your mind is elsewhere trying to wrap your brain around something that you can’t change and that you will more then likely never fully understand. At least not in this life.

When something leaves you questioning let this be an opportunity to reflect, to recognize what your true priorities are, and to be grateful no matter the circumstances. Light is always present.

Easier said than done, I do know. But we all have to diligently seek and give it time.

And also know, it’s okay to be upset, it’s okay to be angry, it’s okay to feel however you’re feeling……..feel the emotions. Don’t push them away. Moments do need to be taken to acknowledge how you’re feeling and healthy ways to express them.

But then, you have to allow and challenge yourself to move forward in order to gain your peace back. And moving on does not mean forgetting what happen. It’s those hard moments in life that leave the darkest stains on our hearts.

It’s those hard moments in life that also produce the brightest flowers.

Choosing to accept and move forward is to surrender to what has been done and remain steadfast. Humans seek control, and when life reminds us that we have very little control it terrifies us.

Never loose hope. Pray all the time and never loose hope that one day we will receive all the answers that we seek.

When a child is young there is much they do not understand, especially with their parents. But when they are older a light comes on and everything makes sense.

In this life we are those children who don’t understand and I myself do pray that one day all of us will have our answers and peace and be completely reassured this whole time we truly were loved, even through those hard, difficult times.

m.g.