Grief - a necessary evil

I was listening to the radio yesterday like I always do.  On one a station I- can't even remember where- was a talk show on the topic of Dr Seuss.  The man in the conversation talked also about what he and his family went through when they found out his wife had cancer.   He noted that her diagnosis became a community event as friends and neighbors pitched in to help him and his 4 kids function so mom could fight her battle.  What he said next struck me.  He said grief is a necessary part of life because it causes us to grow and teaches us true appreciation.  Interesting.  And probably very true. 
(I wish I could tell you what that had to do with Dr Seuss but I didn't hear the rest of the talk.)

This morning, I received my weekly Crossroads Email - a Christian singles newsletter that's educational and encouraging.  The topic was on Christ and how, as a single adult, He lived in such a way as to be fully aware of what being human means. I've read topics like that before so this was not earth shattering more than just a good reminder.  But I was able to keep a part of it that brings me comfort and draws me closer to Him.  He has been where I am now.  I have always attributed His courage and faith to the fact that He was God and forgotten that He was also man.  He has felt what I feel.  He has cried and grieved.  He has been angry.  He has been rejected and abandoned by those who loved Him.  He has been hurt, deceived, betrayed.  He gets me.  That's so cool.


Below is what I will hold on to.  Loss through death, divorce or estrangement is still loss.  And grief is a necessary part of life but it's the healing that comes at the end of it that truly is a blessing and miracle.  At least, I hope so. 


Jesus Understood All Kinds of Loss:

• Jesus suffered the pain of losing his friend Lazarus whom he loved. Even though Jesus had the knowledge of knowing he would raise him from the dead, he still felt the pain not only of his loss but of those around him. Jesus knows our pain of losing friends. Friends from our childhood to adulthood. Friends who we may think have died too young or for no reason. Friends and family who sometimes just leave. Please know you are not alone in your loss, your pain, your grief.
  When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept.  
• (John 11:32-36)

Ironically, as I write this, Amy Grant is singing:
"We pour out our miseries.  God just hears a melody.  
Beautiful the mess we are - the honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a hallelujah."


On the verge of tears, I can't help but think God must be loving my mess a whole lot right now.