Grief and the Moment of Relief

The sudden jolt felt in loss,

Turns to sorrow in our grief.

How are we to be healed?

How do we find good relief?

When it comes to the inexplicable,

The mysteries of life unending,

That’s where God becomes real,

By plain faith, strength God is lending.

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Grief is untouchable. About the time we are blindsided – on a nonchalant Thursday morning or some Saturday evening – life changes from that which we have previous experience; unless this event brings with it a solemn sense of déjà vu that breathes reminiscences of pain from the first instant.

Nothing can come close to resolving certain moments, unless, by God and the faculties of grace, we count it a simple privilege to survive. Many times it’s all we can do; still, it’s enough. Grace – regarding grief – is sufficient, nothing more, nothing less.

Accepting the Untouchable Mystery

Losses that invoke grief – whether they are ordinary, like life adjustments, or extraordinary like the loss of a loved one or a marriage, for instance – are untouchable in their qualities of mystery. The pain is a mystery, just as how to resolve it is.

All we may do is accept what is an untouchable mystery. Yet in simply accepting it, which is a grand gesture ventured along the continuum of maturity, we are granted one of the keys to healing – all that we might bring as our faith in the midst of God’s faithfulness.

As we bring acceptance of the mystery to our moment – that moment of untouchable pain – we are granted strength by God’s peace through our faith. All we can bring is our faith. But our faith is always enough; even a little mustard seed of it.

Faith is the ideal complement for grace. We bring faith and God brings grace. We come as far as we can go and God goes as far as he can come. God won’t do it all. We must agree by our will to bring our faith.

Healing cannot be initiated, not to mention augmented, without our offering of faith, given that grace – the eternal gift of God – requires faith.

The untouchable mystery is accepted by faith.

The untouchable mystery, evoking pain, can only be attended to by faith, and we have strength for the moment, alone.

Faith breeds strength, but strength only for the moment. But strength for the moment is sufficient, as we add our faith to God’s grace and connect one moment to the next and so on.

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In God is the incredible power of grace, but only in the moment of faith. When we avail ourselves of grace, because of our faith, we are given strength for the moment. Our faith must be continuous if we are to enjoy relief in our grief.

© 2014 S. J. Wickham.