This is my second Mother’s Day post. I wanted to share this encouragement in loss because I want to tell you to be aware of some of these sad events when offering your Mother’s Day greeting.
Some who have lost their moms could “adopt” a mom at church, help a lonely neighbor or aunt who is childless.
You can help bring “the Joy back” by being a friend, sending a card or bringing food or flowers.
Don’t forget Mom on Mother’s Day and remember to think outside the box for ways to make this Mother’s Day great, for mom or bring Joy to someone who is alone. And by the way, it doesn’t have to be Mother’s Day to be a help and encouragement to someone.
PM
Sadness and Joy: Sharing A Mother’s Heart
Psalms 73: 26 says, “My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.”
Have you experienced something in your life that caused your “heart to fail”? Whether it was a sickness, your own or a loved one, death of a friend, spouse, parent, or most tragically, your child, there is a gripping hold on your life and heart that you think will never end. I am here to tell you, that sometimes it will not end the way you think. But there is “Hope in God” that the pain will ease, you will come out of that tunnel on the other side, and you will experience Joy again.
Give yourself time to heal. Time. To. Heal.
I was reminded recently of a young man that lost his wife to cancer. I would see him around the church on occasion. He looked really bad. He was in such a bad place for a long time. We were patient with him, not pressing him to “put on a happy face” and join us, but prayed diligently for his healing and that he would find himself again.
Fast-forward 4 years later and I just saw his wedding pictures on Facebook. God sent him a precious woman, not to replace his first wife, but to step in and be mom to his children and love him. He looked so happy! It took time. Time to heal. Trust God. Joy will come.
Years ago, I had some outpatient surgery and came home to rest and recover. A day or so later, I developed a fever, and my hands (palms) broke out in what I would describe as boils. With six small children to care for, one in diapers, I was in quite a fix. If anyone ever felt like Job, it was me. I called the doctor, and the nurse sent some penicillin (which probably saved my life,) and for a week or so I suffered with what was probably a staff infection that I got from the hospital.
I’m telling you this because it was a hard time. Was I joyful while this was happening to me? No. Did God restore me? Yes. But it took time to heal, both mentally and physically.
My daughter-in-law and one of my one of my granddaughters both experienced a miscarriage the last few years, one with a third child and one with her first. To say the least, these were tragic losses for both and could have been almost insurmountable life events. My daughter-in-law was a fairly new Christian, was alone in another state with two young children. We spoke and she shared her heart, but the intimate details were up to her and the Lord. She has since had a healthy third baby, but the sadness of her loss will forever be with her (and us.) My granddaughter’s experience was rather horrific and although we have been able to minister to her, she still shows signs of carrying her loss, and even though she is pregnant again, until this baby is born, I don’t think her joy will be restored. She trusts the Lord also, for which I am grateful. She still needs our prayers and love to get her through.
I relay this because a loss that is irreversible such as a miscarriage, or a death of a child, is something that we must step back and except for ministering with food, visits with a kind ear, helping with the children, if applicable, we cannot know how it feels if it hasn’t happened to us. To tell them they will be ok in time may be helpful, may not. So, be patient for them and help as much as they will let you and know in your heart that they will be better in time. Pray pray pray and tell them you are here for them.
None of these situations, sickness, death, even loss of a pregnancy is pleasant. Life is riddled with events that can spiral us off into a whole different path. God provides the strength. And your joy will return. You will heal. In time.