I had a very interesting realization yesterday while I was inquiring of God. My question to Him was why have I been carrying a card around for the last couple of weeks and have not been able to, not only write it, but deliver it to my friend. It is truly amazing when you get what feels like an aha moment and so much comes together.
As I am writing this post, I know two friends who have just lost their mothers. Both of these women are very dear and I can imagine that they have suffered with such a loss. My own mother passed away 16 years ago this month, and yet it feels very fresh to me.
Loss becomes very personal to us all because there are probably none among us who have not experienced it. When we hear that someone has lost a loved one we grieve for them, and for us. I know that you may initially not think you grieve when it is someone else who has lost someone close, but we all make grief personal. We do this because we put ourselves in their place and remember the losses we have felt. We remember how grieved we were, how shocked we were, and how deeply we were affected by the sudden absence of this person.
This is what the Holy Spirit was showing me yesterday. I was not able to write that card because I was living through my own loss. My sister passed away 2 months ago, and although she was my older sister, it has been taking me back to those 16 years ago when my mother died. The pain has been real and very acute at times.
It is a simple matter of the heart. We love those that we have done life with and we miss them when they are gone.
John 11:32-36 CSB As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and told Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was deeply moved in His spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Lord, they told Him, come and see.”
Jesus wept.
So, the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”