5 Minutes of Hope

by Wendy Wampler @thewidowwomanblog

Since that fatal Friday night, I have often wondered about the process of grief. I have watched people go through it often. A few friends, family, a colleague here and there, T.V. Drama have all portrayed a picture or a window of grief. Each one has shown me that the process is all about steering a very large vessel on a very large ocean that is in the midst of storms and calm.

I have also learned that this process, of only one emotion, grief, is not unlike all of the other emotions we as humans have. How we process is the same for each one. From betrayal to love to happiness, the “lean into it” concept works. For each wave, we allow it to swamp us for the moment. Knowing that the wave will not capsize us. Those waves could sink us if the vessel is not in good working order.

When the vessel is shored up with good values, from a very young age, to extra work and effort to do what is right, makes a large difference in how to rock the waves safely. Some are given a bad start with a broken vessel and never can fix it, while others are given a head start with all the furnishings possible. Blame can be placed on everything, everyone, and every circumstance, as to the whys and why nots to survival.

Grief is only a whisper. Settle down. Let the whisper come. The perception of the tone, whether sinister or familiar, can only be determined by our filters. I choose to filter through God’s perspective, measured carefully by the Holy Bible. Grief, Love, heart break, betrayal, happiness, they all are the same size, the whisper is all the same — walk with it — hear it — feel it. When allowed the sights on the other side are pretty amazing and powerful.

My favorite tag line, thought, or idea since that Friday night has and always will be — “He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.”

Is He yours?