Thursday, June 19, 2014

Embrace your Grief

There is no shame in sadness and nothing wrong with tears. Don’t believe the lie that strength is found in steady emotion.

There is a handful, maybe a group, of women (and men too) that believe they must happily accept the death of their baby. They hold in the grief, the questions, the deep pain, and they cling to hollow lies and claims of, “I’m ok, really.”

God expects our grief. He allows us to mourn. If we pretend all is well we serve no purpose in helping the next person to walk our same path. Your testimony will mean more when others watch you crawl through the trenches and climb out victorious. They can see your faith in action.

The Book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to weep and a time to mourn. Couldn’t this be your time?

I’ve been one to want to meet others’ expectations and I feel inadequate if I don’t. So when I felt that someone thought I should be “over it” I worked hard to at least fake it. But after realizing I’m a terrible actress and an even worse liar I gave up. Hudson deserves my tears anyways.

So, for the one who’s walls are about to bust with built up emotion, please let it overflow. Don’t be afraid. Don’t feel shame.
Allow yourself to shed the mask, release the tears, ask hard questions and know that Ecclesiastes also tells us there is a time to laugh and a time to dance. That is coming. Until then, embrace your grief – for that will grow your strength.