I was out of town when she sent the text. Her man was gone. “How, Lord? Why?” She was just days away from celebrating her first year of marriage with a man who loved her dearly. My heart was breaking.
Grief remembered.
Grateful to be back in town before the funeral, I had to ask myself a hard question: “Can I even go to the service?” As much as I loved my friend, funerals are still hard. This one seemed especially difficult, as it was the loss of a husband.
As I walked into the same room where I’d stood four years prior, I was grateful I’d come early. No words could be spoken as we shared a tight hug. Two sisters, two widows.
There is no good time for loss.
“I just thought…” she began. I knew. No answers to give.
We talked some more about the joy of being loved by a good, godly man, and then I apologized for not being able to stay. She understood. She will understand even more.
Pulling out of the parking lot, I started to beat myself up for not staying. “I should be there for her,” I thought. Then God gave me permission to let others minister to her when I could not. I’ll have my time later, when she needs me most.
You would think that after four years, I had learned something about answers to loss. While answers are hard to find, He is not. God’s not required to give us answers. He’s never promised that. What he guarantees is his presence — in good times and bad, on the mountain top and in the valley of the shadow of death, today and always.
His presence must be our “enough” when answers aren’t.
He’s been enough for me, and I know He will be for my sister-friend. She may not know it yet, but she will.
Looking for answers to your hurts and grief? Let Jesus be your answer.
He’s enough.
Grace and Peace
No answers for real