He’s not coming back….

Those are words I read in a Journal twenty-one days after my first husband Bill died. My head knew he was gone, my heart was just not adjusting to that fact.

I am sorting through some books and journals this week and they take me back. Back to a time that was dark in so many ways, yet there were periods of light and hope in those dark days. As I read the above quote, I also read this in that same journal:

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last (Job 19:25 NLT).

Why would I write about dreadful, scary, sorrowful times? Not to wallow in grief and sadness forever. No. I write to encourage those of you who feel as I did. Lost. Broken. Full of a heavy sadness that caused me sometimes to deny my loved one was gone.

I write because, I moved through those dark dreary days to hope and joy. It wasn’t immediate. Grief doesn’t work that way. I learned in the pain to be honest with God. I learned where my source of peace was.

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

It was the “Lord of Peace” who helped me in the deep sorrows. That even though I was grieving, I could still have peace. That means you can too.

I’d like to post one more entry from my journal. I’ll set the stage. It was my first day back to work as an elementary music teacher just seventeen days after my beloved husband of 40 years had died. We had a meeting after school with the Superintendent of our private Christian school.

Meeting after school. We were informed our campus was closing. They would try to place as many as possible in the other schools (there were three). Such shock, yet the first thought that came to my mind was “God always opens a window when a door is closed.”…..

Through those lonely days and weeks and months, I learned that although I was physically alone in my house, there was a Comforter–the Holy Spirit present with me the whole time. I can say with assurance, He comforted me when no one else could. He understood best.

As I write my blog, early this morning, I face east and am treated sometimes to a sunrise. I could tell it would be a beauty and here it is:

What does the sunrise say to me? Promise of a new day. Promise of hope for tomorrow and the future. I know I am not alone. I have hope for eternity.

If you have given God control over your life, you are His child and heir. He promises this:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34).

I know that my late husband Bill is in heaven, enjoying the inheritance the Father has given him. I will one day enjoy the same with my loved ones who belong to Him.

Next week, I’ll share another time in a January where I found help and hope in God–the only true source of hope. May you who are remembering your loss be comforted. God is the God of all comfort and “peace at all times and in every situation.” I promise you, it is true.