Losses

 Michael Sprague

Losses

I thought of these words after attending  the memorial service  for a 50-year-old friend.

Let me state the obvious - Something is wrong in the world. It is broken and often brutal. A world like this tries to fry our souls. Loss, disappointment, injustice, and grief can cause our hearts to ache for something to be made right.

It is easy to deny, stuff or spiritualize away our losses, but toxic stuff leaks. Right? Wouldn’t it be healthier if we could name our losses one-by-one -- even the hurts we do not want to talk about? Wouldn’t it be detoxifying if the losses could be grieved as we invite God’s healing grace into those inner places that are nicked, raw, bruised and bleeding? We must practice soul care.

Can you name your losses? Loss of a job, hope, fortune, or dream? Have newsfeeds eaten at your sanity? Has your health been in jeopardy or your aging parents’ sense of well-being? Have you been distanced from those you love? Is depression stealing the you from you? Are you scrambling to keep up with a whole new world that is, or you imagine is rapidly changing? Does it seem like things will never be the same? We need to pay attention to our souls and be filled with God. 

Name your losses. Do not silence yourself. Give yourself permission to feel. Your losses matter. Invite Jesus into everything that is messy. Invite his love, his presence, and his new mercies. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak and apply his deep healing salve. Invite Him into the inside. He is eager to come. 

Do not neglect the hidden parts of your soul and your ungrieved griefs. You have two options…to come closer to God or move away from Him. 

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b