It has been some time ago, but I remember a friend say to me as she set down on the counter, a lovely meal of comfort food: meatloaf, potatoes, and cheesecake for dessert. She said, “God isn’t finished with you yet.”

At the time, I was in shock and gripping grief. My husband had died suddenly days earlier and it felt like I had a gaping wound in my heart. At the time, I almost didn’t believe her, but there was a glimmer of hope even though I faced life alone once again–kind of like the bird who sits on the wire alone where usually there is a group of birds perched there.

That’s how I felt. Very alone. Yet, I knew in my head I wasn’t alone, for God was within me. In spite of the shocking loss, I stuck to him. He was near when no one else was. He heard my sobs, and saw my tears. He even collected them.

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book (Psalm 56:8 NLT).

Time passed. I continued to live. I remembered. I prayed. Wrote down words and cried buckets of tears, and then I began to look up to the One who understood me the most.

I wasn’t the same person any longer. I emerged as a different woman. One who knew loss and survived. Who cherished the past, but continued to live.

My friend was right. God wasn’t finished with me yet. I was alive. My future was still before me.

If you are in the middle of loss. The dark, cold, winter of grief, remember spring is coming with the birds and new leaves and flowers. Then it rolls into summer with longer days of light, warm days and velvety nights. What changes in nature, is happening inside you in the midst of grief.

If you haven’t experienced grief, one day you will. You don’t have to dread the day or somehow “prepare” yourself for loss, instead, build up your relationship with God. Just as we go to the gym to build up our muscles, or walk for strength and movement, we can build our knowledge of the One who is always there and will be there in the dark of night.

I suggest you start with a simple prayer. “Lord, they say you are there. Please show me.” If you don’t have words, open your Bible and read. The Psalms is a good place to go. It’s about in the middle of your Bible. Locate chapters 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59 to start. Read them out loud to God.

I can tell you, he hears you when you read them. He wants to be close to you. In grief. In joy. All the time.

If you aren’t grieving, perhaps you can bring comfort to one who is. You don’t have to say anything profound. Just be there. Be present with them.

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