Pain As Deep As An Ocean

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait I say one the Lord. 
Psalm 27:14

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 
John 14:26 KJV

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:18

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thes 5:18 

Since I've been writing and sharing, a few people have approached me as to whether or not I feel called to preach the gospel. That'd be a HUGE no. I think of myself as more of an encourager, somewhat akin to Joel Osteen, like a cheerleader, minus the 9M followers. I mean, really dude is no preacher by any stretch of the imagination, as am I not. I do, however,  like to help folk feel better. You need a sounding board, look no further. You need a ride or die, just have some bail money ready. I try very hard to be there for people I love and anyone really, if you have no one to unload on or to, I'm your girl. I makes me feel so good, doing what the Lord instructed us to do, and bearing another's burdens.

But there are times when the I get knocked down, flat on my face. Where do I go? Inward most times, a couple of friends and other times to my pastor. Life comes at you so fast, like a speeding out of control train. And there you are, a train wreck. Sometimes things so unexpected it lets the wind out of our sails, and in all honesty we collapse under the pressure. Some of us. Some are stronger than others, and can withstand the hurricane winds of life and are slowed for a minute. Others of us need a while to get back up. But we do. We rise.

Unforeseen circumstances can push you into the ground, even if you consider yourself well grounded. The loss of a loved one, unexpectedly, is crushing, debilitating, and life altering. Part of us never recover. Add to this loss one quite young, which is insult to injury. All death is bruising, and shakes us to our very core. Losing a parent is very difficult. But rationally, it's the natural order of things. However, sometime that order is disturbed and it's a child, or a young adult. Someone who's lived very little life is suddenly snatched from our grasp. This is not to diminish losing a parent or spouse, on the contrary. Those types of losses will have one paralyzed with grief and you feel you will never get any relief. But again, our children.... We grapple with this loss and most times, it very nearly kills the parent as well, if they don't have a strong support system. People really do die of broken hearts.

Then we go though the five stages of grief. Denial (which I'm currently in for my daughter's bestie, as I cannot believe this has happened), anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. I'm sure it's going to take her daughter, family and my daughter a long time to process this loss. We may not understand His way or like His will, but through this devastating storm, we must praise Him despite this mind numbing pain. This too, is His will.

So what do we do? All I can think of is the afore mentioned Psalms. We must wait on the Lord to strengthen us knowing that He will send the Comforter to be near to us in this time of grieving.
That's all I got. Loss is rough. I've lost both my parents, all my uncles, my only aunt, my brother and countless cousins and friends. It never EVER gets easier, but no matter what God is always with us. Sad to say, loss is compounded during the holidays. That empty space no one can replace.

So to everyone not exactly feeling the upcoming holidays, due to the loss of a loved one, just surround yourselves with family and people who love you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. And remember, to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. 

                                              We will always love you Paige Lampkin

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