Grief is universal. How we process it – the symptoms and reactions we experience – are unique. Grief encompasses a variety of situations: missed opportunities, a job loss, disappointments, unfulfilled dreams, the absence of cherished family and friends who once filled our lives with joy.
Yet as Christians, we do not grieve as a people without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We grieve as people of hope – hope that God will fulfill God’s promises. I’m sad that my dear ones aren’t with me as they once were; yet faith says that they aren’t with us as they will be either. We are on the cusp of a new reality, but now we only have glimpses. I’m impatient for those glimpses.
The season of Advent reminds me to seek hope in the ebb and flow of grief. It reminds me that I can hold God accountable for those promises in Scripture. Even when love feels distant, even when our loved ones seem hidden, God shows us how to find hope that carries us into joy.
This message is excerpted from “Hide and seek” by Emily Wiles in the November/December 2023 Gather magazine.
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