Dealing With the Loss of a Loved One

Can one person give another something that can heal?  How many times have I offered a Word of Scripture to someone who needed it? Once, twice, maybe a hundred or more times.  Those are times when God has planted that Scripture in my heart for just such a time. In those moments, God placed  His Words in my heart and they are spoken before I am even aware that they are breathed.

But, can one person see another hurting and offer comforting words that are not Scripture?  I believe so. I hope so.

After the moments of exhilaration upon hearing the news that my Pastor was healed of Stage IV cancer, my thoughts turned immediately to a friend who had prayed for a healing and it was not in God’s design. How would she react to this wonderful news. I am certain she is glad to hear God would leave our Pastor with us a little while longer than we expected. But, her son was not healed and she struggles with the loss to this day.

She is my friend. I want her to know the joy of life again. I want her to remember the wonderful moments of her son’s life. I want that joy to fill her to the point it overcomes the pain of the loss.

I am not God. I have no life-giving words to offer of my own. But while pondering them, I am reminded of a time in my life when the full impact of a great loss almost put an end to me.  As I remember that time, I hear a song in my head written by Rich Mullins and based on John 16:33 that calms me.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.”

So, there will be times in our lives that we cannot fix the hurt another feels, even if we have traveled the same road of loss and grief. Sometimes it is best when that we just remain close, nearby, and available for them when they need to talk.

It is not a Bible verse, it is not church talk, and it is not ‘Christian-ease’ that brings comfort sometimes. Maybe it is the quiet, gentle nudging of one Christian to another that no human being can fulfill all their needs. There is only one Person who can, Jesus.

And He is sitting on ready to help, if we just reach out.