Father,

In the midst of all of our losses in life, we develop an appreciation for what we have. The Bible says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” You see to it that our our mourning is blessed and those who comfort are blessed also. Our grief tears apart any feeling of security and safety, and leads us to a painful feeling of brokenness. It takes us out of the normal grind and reminds us that nothing is settled, clear or obvious, but everything is constantly shifting and changing. Within the dance of the opening of the Spirit in mourning, lies the gift of the realization and the appreciation for what truly is. “For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'”

Our grief opens us up to an appreciation and accepting of new goodness coming in. Mourning washes away old grieving memories of all the pain and suffering experienced at the hands of authoritarian greed and darkness. It washes away for Your Promise to enter and for us to shift into joy. After the cleansing of the remnants of shadows that once were, we are ready to choose to rise out of grief and misery to walk a purposeful lighted path. We choose a higher, more vibrant life. We choose to take the hand of our Savior and walk with him. “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5)

In the Light of the Living,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.