C.S. Lewis lost his wife late in life, “In a Grief Observed” he wrote about it.” He too had fell head-long into the vortex of whirling thoughts and feelings and dizzily groped for support and guidance deep in the dark chasm of grief.” Never have I experienced a writer’s ability to depict what happens when one grieves as clearly as C.S. Lewis traversed us with his writing. “The mind tries to reassure the heart that all is well, then a sudden earthquake of pain erupts any and all sense of well-being: ” a sudden jab of red-hot memory and all this ‘commonsense’ vanishes like an ant in the mouth of a furnace.” “The mind can only go so far to convince the heart in the way of suffering. In this acute phase of loss, emotions rule the day. Desperate longings for the one who is gone or the One who should be ever present are met with empty return.” In his well described journey through grief, he said that there were times that his lifeline to God, once secure; became a questionable rope,” I thought I trusted in the rope until it mattered to me whether it would bear me.” Seeing loved ones and friends pass away around us can cause people to question where they are at in their faith. In the end, C.S. Lewis sees God as the great iconoclast who offers remedial pain-to hurt in order to heal.”” The tortures are necessary. Christ suffered for us. God is indeed good. This realization brings about a lighter heart, a lifting of sorrow, a clearing of tears, a moment of clarity and release. His passions no longer block God from view.” This is just a small segment of his writing, he takes you deeply through stage by stage. Clearly, he chose not to stay in the sanctuary of grief, rather transitions through the pain –to a different, a better place- to move forward, trust God, then let go of the pain.

We must learn to do this with every circumstance, disappointment, loss, daily! Many people do not process through the pain that we endure everyday as we live and navigate through life. They believe that grief is only for the departed loved one, though this is very necessary as we talked about. As soon as we are wounded, we need to learn to grieve the pain, grieve the losses and make a choice to let go of the pain. Failure to do this can cause our vision to God to be blocked. Let go of the grief. Daily.

As Christ was dying for us on the cross, He said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do…”, we too must daily forgive those who have disappointed us, robbed us, humiliated us, who have not understood who we are and have hurt us. We must forgive those who have hurt us. Choose to grieve all the pain, all the loss and let the pain go daily. Christ rose again so that we have another chance for eternal life, give all your pain and grief to Him, lay it all at His feet daily. Trust Him only with your life

today.

” Like a Shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them to His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” Isaiah 40:11

In Jeremiah 31:3- it says,” The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

These have always been sweet words to hear, over the years I have read them thousands of times. Coming from a broken home, a home filled with abuse, it has been a place to retreat safely to every time I was feeling lost, frightened and unloved. These words assure me that God loves me.

His word also says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”(1 Peter 2:9). Until I met Jesus, I had not felt loved, and further could not wrap my mind around an everlasting love. This love is an amazing, unconditional, faithful, unwavering, one that cherishes those who call on His name! Once more it is an eternal love, we are loved throughout all eternity!

In Genesis 1:27 it says, ” So God created humans to be like Himself; He made men and women.” This tells me that if God cherishes us this way, and we are made to be like Him, then we are supposed to cherish others, both men and women that He made!

-Someone who cherishes you will not just hear your words, but they will actively listen to them- as God does for us.

-They remember the little things-as God does for us.

-They respect other people’s boundaries- as God does for us.

-They support your dreams and ambitions-as God does for us.

-They are always open and honest with others (balanced with kindness and empathy)- as God does for us-He can not lie.

-They make sacrifices for you-as God does for us. He sent His only son, sacrificially for our sins and our second chance to live forever.

-Be there for others in the tough times-as God does for us.

-Celebrate others successes-as God does for us.

-They love others for who they are-as God does for us. We never have to change to receive God’s love, he cherishes His creation. (all 9 statements that I just wrote were originally written in a list of “If a Man displays these 9 traits, he will cherish you for life”, by Tina Fey on The Expert Editor website.) I thought every point fits in well with how God treats each one of us, and also how God expects us to treat others. Cherish others.

Ask Him to be Lord of your life today, He will never leave you or forsake you-He is all these things to you!

C.S. Lewis quote: “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly right harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

I have discovered in my life that life has ways of nudging us toward our next steps because we become too comfortable where we are and it may hinder our growth. I was just reading this week the story of a young man who was 40 years old, he ran into a little girl who was crying. When he asked why she was crying she said that she had lost her doll. He was never married, nor did he have any children of his own and it became his plight for the next few months to relieve this girl’s pain about the loss of the doll. He made it look like the doll was traveling far away and he began to send notes to the girl from various destinations from the doll. The notes would keep her aware of what the doll was doing etc. Then one day the man saw the girl again, this time he had brought her a new doll. Though the girl was very happy to have this doll, she quickly said, this is not the same doll. With this the man said, that the places she had been made her change the way she looked. The girl embraced the doll like it was her new friend. The man died the next year. The girl grew up and one day discovered that inside the doll was another note, it read: ” Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return another way.” Embrace change, it’s inevitable for growth. Together we can shift pain into wonder and love, but it is up to us to consciously and intentionally create that connection. Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

I know myself, I needed help to create this connection. Life sometimes hands us pain and disappointments-of course many other good things as well. Pain may take us way off course and even cause us to resist change because of fear. Asking Jesus into my heart has caused me to have that creative connection, to trust Him -that it’s good to grow and most necessary to change so that growth may happen. Jesus wants to adopt you as His sons and daughters, He died for every one of us and rose again so that our lives could be changed for evermore, reach out to Him today, let Him help you to change.

We are free to choose many things for ourselves, this is a gift.

2 Corinthians 3:17 reads: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. “Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Our constitution begins this way:” We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Our nation was founded by men and women who had a passion to live free, and to remain free. Our God has always declared over His people that we should not let ourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Now I believe this means slavery to any other person, place, habit, lifestyle or thing. In this nation, we do celebrate many more freedoms than in other nations for this I am truly grateful.

“We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

As we celebrate the birthday of our nation, we must never forget the many sacrifices that have been made by all our descendants, our brave family members who stood boldly for our nation and it’s continued freedom. Thanks to the thousands and blessings and love to all those families who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Martin Luther King Jr. quoted: “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Nelson Mandela quoted:” For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

The ultimate way to receive freedom is to allow Jesus Christ, Who died and rose again for every one of us to have freedom in Him; to break every chain from you and surrender all of your pain and sin to Him, “He who the Son has set free is free indeed!!”Ask Him to transform your life today.

Happy Birthday America!!

Loneliness impacts us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, “the effects are distinct enough to be measured over time.” Quote by Marano. God is moved on behalf of those who feel deeply isolated even in the presence of others. Grief can be desperately lonely, we all grieve many different things all through our lives: people, relationships, jobs, communities, afflictions, assaults, losses of every kind.

Elijah’s state of mind as he fled from Jezabel was one of great despair and grief, he asked the Lord if he could die-forgetting about the miracles that he had just experienced from God with the sacrifice of the many prophets of Baal. He had forgotten that he was not alone against Jezabel, his peace was challenged. When we turn to God, He will nurture relationships, build trust, and demonstrate mercy for our good and for His Glory.

God sent Naomi to Ruth as a companion, their relationship teaches us about commitment and loyalty. Ruth was a Moabite daughter-in-law of a Jewess named Naomi. Ruth’s unwavering commitment to Naomi evident when she refuses to leave her side even after Naomi encourages her to return home. “Whither thou goest, I will go: and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people will be my people. “Ruth 1:16. They had mutual support, despite cultural differences, their relationship also shows the faithfulness of God! People who have been through lots of trauma are grieving, they have been wounded by the trauma, by the betrayal, the rejection. People in pain are prime targets for loneliness. They have not received support from other people in many cases, cultural differences may serve to isolate even more from someone who may truly want to help them. Despite our own pain and struggles, and sense that we are alone-God is always faithful to His people! When we are a beloved child of God, we are never alone!

Seek God and trust Him to help you build relationships like Naomi and Ruth. Seek a meaningful connection with Him. If you have never asked Jesus to be Lord of your life, no time like the present.

Say: Lord forgive me for all sin that separated You and me, I believe in You, and I want you to come into my life and change me forever more! Please fill me with Your love, Your Holy Spirit and lead and guide me forevermore. I know you died for me and rose again so that my life would be changed for all eternity, In Jesus’ mighty name, amen. Now as His beloved child, you will never really be alone again!

Scriptures on loneliness: Isaiah 49:16 Psalms 139:7-10