For ten days we have been draped in a depressing, smoky atmosphere. The air has a smoke smell, but not like the nice woodsy smell of a campfire, but wood and plastic combined.

 

That’s because all along the west coast, our lands and buildings have been burning in earnest. Some of the fires have been contained, but not nearly all of them. It reminds me of grief and I’m well acquainted with it, though not now. It feels oppressive, just like grief. There’s a malaise. Everything looks and feels gray. Like grief.

Are you grieving or do you know someone who is? Right now, I’m observing from afar several people who are enveloped by it. Grief is a necessary reaction to loss. It doesn’t feel good. it is cloying at times. But it is normal.

I’ve learned the best way to get through grief is by facing it headlong, not trying to avoid it.  A grief counselor once said to think of grief like a traffic snarl. In order to get out of the traffic you must go through it to get to the other side. It takes time and sometimes frustrating moments along the way. But to get through the grief–and traffic–you must stick with it until you get to the other side. I can tell you if you face the grief it will help you through it. It isn’t easy. It takes time. Tears and effort.

I found reading the Psalms was healing to me in my grief. Reading them didn’t take the sorrow  away, but made it more bearable. Just this morning I read the following:

I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken (Psalm 62:5,6 NLT).

Are you in the middle of grief? Sometimes grief is not from the death of a loved one. It might be illness. You know they won’t get better, yet you also know they will die one day. Perhaps you are the person sick. You may not get better. It could be a broken relationship. Disappointment with someone.  Your grief could be loss of property or job or business–many people are facing those kinds of losses right now whether it’s through the pandemic or the terrible fires enveloping the western states.

I’ve learned in my losses to be in the grief. That doesn’t mean to be constantly crying–though tears are healing. It does mean facing your loss. Talking to God about your loss–He understands grief better than anyone. Writing down your thoughts and memories about your loved one also helps. Isaiah the prophet said, He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief (Isa. 53:3a).

Early this morning, we finally had rain.  It’s still smoky outside but the air quality is better. The skies are still gray, but we have the promise of clear skies again.

That is true with grief. At one point–perhaps a longer time than you would like, you will get to the other side of grief. I can tell you it’s true, for I’ve been there.

May you sense the hope from the One who is acquainted with deepest grief. He is there.