It is still hard to talk about. My husband’s serious illness and the aftermath of his death lasted just 25 days. I was suddenly and painfully confronted with the reality of being a single parent of a nine-year-old child who could not cry for the loss of her father. I felt her pain as well as my own grief.
I was overwhelmed. In my turmoil and despair, I surrendered to the mercy of God’s word. Gradually I began to realize that no matter how profound my despair, I can never be in utter darkness, because God’s presence is always with my daughter and me.
God brought us back. God’s presence came into our lives through a circle of love consisting of family, our faith community and reflection on the word of God. It’s from these life-giving end enriching experiences that my daughter and I began to experience a sense of God’s inner peace and renewed strength within ourselves. Thanks be to God!
This is adapted from “Widowhood,” a devotion found in Living from the Heart of God: A Journal for Life’s Stages, published by Women of the ELCA in 2007.