There’s a lot to be said about what’s happening around us. Since COVID-19 hit the United States, the life that we once knew has drastically changed. The freedoms we once took for granted and for some, enjoyed, are now being stripped away. We’re not only dealing with so much physical death and uncertainty, but our lives as a whole, our future is now in limbo. Planning for tommorow…PAUSED! So, how do we survive this season, keep our head, move forward and not drown in all of our fears, loss and uncertainty? I’ll share with you today what The Lord has shared with me in learning how to navigate the heart break, fear and sudden change to propel us into purpose.
What can I say about this season…Immense Loss…Significant Loss on all sides. Loss…death…grief…destruction all around. Wars, rumors of wars, unemployment, rapid sickness, protest, senseless killings, more death…significant change…fear! Just to go run errands in my city is heart wrenching because of all of the “For Rent” signs I see for what used to be a thriving business…It’s heart breaking! Change, change and more change.
So, what do we do now? How do we make sense of this grief? How do we explain this to our kids? There are no right answers…there’s no quick fix or cure…there are no right words to say…it’s devastating hands down, stressful and scary and we can’t help but to feel what we feel…sometimes…immense sadness.
With all that being said, here are some things The Lord has pressed upon my heart while trying to wrap my mind and head around this thing for myself in helping me cope, especially for my lil one, during this storm:
1.Find the silver lining! This may sound cliché, but let me tell you…it’s helping to save my life right now and helping to keep my daughter.
“Find The Silver Lining“…this is what my daughter’s teacher has been sharing with her class…the belief that there’s something good that comes out of something really bad. I know…It’s extremely hard to find the good when you’re in it…but this is where the rubber meets the road with our faith, what do we really believe? Do we believe God’s word? Do we still have hope in God in the middle of devastation of our storms? With crisis all around, does this make God bad or less of a God Father? Do we feel entitled that these things shouldn’t happen to us?
This is what it boils down too…Where does your faith lye? God’s calling our attention to our own faith and revealing what we really believe and, to tighten up our faith.
This is a time to make a committed decision…This is the time to hold onto Jesus like never before. Yes, it’s horrible…no…it doesn’t make sense…yes…our heart is breaking…but this is where we have to trust God that even though He has allowed this to occur, He’s still a GREAT FATHER and desires to bring his purpose and plan for your life to an expected end…your purpose and meaning.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.…”
No matter what…we have to hold on, believe and fight for our faith past what our eyes can see!
2. Give yourself permission to grieve! For those of you whose family member(s) just died…a spouse…kid(s)…several family members, friends and for the loss on top of loss…for those of you that have gone through this…I offer my deepest, deepest, deepest condolences for your loss(es)…there are no words. The Lord comfort and bless you beyond measure.
For those of us that have gone through loss in the past, what typically happens thereafter? After a death or loss, you spend the first few weeks in task mode…arranging and planning for the funeral…taking care of business, entertaining family and for most of us…it’s back to work like it never ever happened. At work, people either are very kind, or, strangely odd and distant around you.
The world expects us to move forward, the job tells us to come back to work, life says move past it and go back to business as usual…but your heart feels like it just stopped beating.
I’m here to tell you, stop and pause, no matter what anyone says and allow yourself time to grieve!
This is where in our grieving process we become stuck. Why? We become stuck in grief because we shove our feelings inside because people expect us to be ok, we tell ourselves were ok, we even downplay our experience because others have it worse, and, more times than not, we’re really afraid to feel our feelings. These are all the things I’ve done or experienced which has lead to my morbid obesity. Whatever you don’t deal with will manifest itself someway, somehow.
Your feelings matter! No matter who has it worse, we have to honor how we feel. We have to feel our feelings. We have to process our feelings. We have to give ourselves permission to grief our losses, both physical, spiritual, for our past, present and change in general…So give yourself permission to grieve.
Remember, Isaiah 53:3-6 says,
“He is despised and [d]rejected by men,A Man of [e]sorrows and acquainted with [f]grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our [g]griefs And carried our [h]sorrows; Yet we [i]esteemed Him stricken, [j]Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions, He was [l]bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes[m] we are healed.“
Jesus not only knows how we feel, He was the greatest partaker of suffering…allow Jesus himself an opportunity to comfort you over it all…every hurt…pain and tragic loss…He’ll carry you through it all.
Please join me for part two of, “”Surviving The Pandemic…Moving Through Loss, Grief & Finding Meaning Through It All” as there’s so much more to share.
Continue to join me as I share with you what Christ is sharing with me about overcoming. As always, Be Encouraged, Stay Connected, Fight & Let’s Become Free Together!
Join me on B.O.O.M!’s YouTube Page for “B.O.O.M!’s Dealing With Grief & Loss Series” and may The Lord comfort you as you move forward in your grief journey.
Yours in Christ,
Ke’Shawn Adamson,
B.O.O.M!
