|
Dear friends,
We weren’t sure it was going to work. My daughter Sarah had planned to fly from south Florida to see her grandmother in Augusta. Their first visit in 3 years. This past weekend. Meanwhile, the hurricane was churning and chewing its way through Florida - headed our way. Sarah was determined to make this trip. She had not seen my Mom for three years. Ian didn’t care.…
Most of the time we make plans and expect life to accommodate us. After all, we reason, our demands are reasonable, we work hard to achieve our goals, and we try to work around any interference. But some storms are simply overwhelming, and as with Ian, the damage is staggering, the suffering unimaginable. Then, what?
How do we cope with devastation? How do we make sense of any deep loss, whether endured with a whole community or suffered alone? For while the headlines grab the big stuff, at the end of the day we each have to navigate our own grief. And on an individual level, pain is pain, regardless of how other people “rate” that pain on a scale of severity. Storm surge, illness, divorce, relocation, depression, estrangement, addiction, even retirement… loss is loss. What do we do with that?
One way we survive and heal is to come together with other people who don’t need an explanation to understand our pain. They’ve been there. Maybe they still are there. There is solace and hope in sharing with other people who “get” it, who don’t judge our feelings or our choices, who hold our hearts in their hearts and listen, pray, weep, laugh, and dare to keep living, alongside us.
Some people deal with their grief in private, and that’s perfectly OK. But for those who yearn for another human to share their journey, there are other options. One is a Grief Support Group that will begin meeting later this month, on Wednesday, October 19th. After that, we’ll meet on the first and third Wednesdays of every month, at 10 am in the John Law Room.
Life is rarely predictable and often difficult. But when circumstances seem especially uncertain or even frightening, I remind myself of God’s words to Joshua, as he prepared to lead a ragtag group of homeless Hebrews back to the Promised Land they had left, generations ago. “Be strong and of good courage. No matter what happens, I am your God. Always remember: You are not alone. I will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:5,6,9)
This verse kept playing through my mind last Thursday. At the last minute, by some miracle, the airline had NOT canceled Sarah’s flight. Her plane threaded its way over, under, around, and through Ian’s menacing bands of wind and rain. Sarah literally made it through on two wings and constant prayer.
Sarah was never alone, nor was I. God had gone before us into the storm. “No matter what happens, you are not alone. I am with you wherever you go.” Even so, I did not relax until she fell into my arms, and we just hugged each other for a long while. Thank you, God!
Rev. Laurie Bentley
Parish Associate
| 
