The Rhythm of Grief

I am still in Mexico and as I was taking my daily walk along the beach this morning, I began contemplating the waves coming into the shore. I have always loved the sound of the surf, particularly at night when I find it very soothing. Anyway, I thought that the waves coming into the shore are very much like the grief that I hold in my heart. The motion of ocean waves onto the shore never ceases. The waves reach the shoreline in a constant, never-ending rhythm. There are times when it is calm and the waves gently roll into the beach and back again and then there are times when gale force winds drive those waves thundering into the sand. The grief that follows losing one of your children is a lot like that. Just like the incoming and outgoing tidal waves, it is a constant that will always be. There are days that are calm and there are days that are like hurricane winds.

Just like God is always a presence with the ocean waves, he is also always present with me as I carry my loss. During both the calm and the crashing waves, God is there providing me comfort and understanding. When my grief is in calmer waters, he helps me grow and become stronger. When I am facing the crashing waves that threaten to pull me under, he holds on to me and keeps me from washing away. God as my protector and comforter is what I know that I can always hang onto in the new way of being that I am learning to live in.