A Journey from Surviving to Thriving

In my last two posts, I discussed our process of grieving after the untimely death of our grandson.   I shared the feelings of “living in a fog” and of a sense of “disconnectedness” from God.   But I also shared how the concept of being deeply anchored in Jesus (Hebrews 6: 18b-19) held us steady during this time.   In the last post, I specifically shared of the importance of “prior emotional and spiritual preparation” before a crisis hits — and how this carried us through grieving.  I also shared of learning that feelings must not define me.  I want to follow in this post with two more lessons which I believe God prepared us to learn and appreciate.  It has been said that it’s in our pain that we learn our most valuable lessons.  We’re learning! When I Can No Longer Walk, He Will Carry Me Frankly, my frustration was that when I needed God the most I seemed unable  to connect with Him.  Where is He? Why isn’t He here to comfort us in our grief? Can I continue to trust His promises?

In my last post, I shared about the intense grief we experienced after the untimely death of our grandson and of the feeling of living in a fog while experiencing a sense of disconnectedness from God.   But I also shared how God revealed a key verse that has been a source of great comfort and stability for us and has become our banner verse as we’ve sought to make sense out of this tragic loss of life — Hebrews 6:18b-19.     “Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”  (Hebrews 6:18b-19 NLT) This verse will be the common thread woven throughout what follows.   The fateful crash that took our grandson’s life occurred on December 11, 2022.  We are now in Florida, over two months since that date, where we can take the necessary time to talk, pray, reflect, grieve, and try to make sense out of what has happened — and seek to learn whatever God wants to t

What holds you steady and on course when the chaos of life becomes unbearably harsh? Or when the perplexing questions of one’s heart simply don’t get answered?   Here’s what we are learning.   I candidly shared during a previous post about our experience walking in the “fog” following our young grandson’s untimely, intentional death.  During this time we hurt deeply and were extremely busy caring for the deep needs of family members while still seeking to process our own grief.  In the fog and feeling somewhat disconnected from God, I found it difficult to focus on most things — including, surprisingly, my usual time alone with the Lord (which I’ll eventually explore more deeply with you). If you’ve been following these posts, you know that they are generally about moving from a state of “simply surviving” life to one of “enjoying thriving” in life as we live a fulfilled life in the midst of chaos. My present question to myself is: but can I thrive in the midst of a major family cris