Grieving With Hope
Photo by Philipp Torres on Unsplash
“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
To everything there is a season. We are all well acquainted with this reality. We are reminded of it in the movement from winter to spring, in our childrens’ growth, and in our spiritual lives; change is all around us. In some cases, the changing of seasons is exciting and beautiful. In others, it is painful and hard. The very nature of change is that something old is being modified or altered into a new, different thing. Something old is passing and something new is coming.
An inevitable component of this reality is the presence of grief.
We experience a kind of loss as we go from one season to another, and the human response to loss is grief. We often try to move past this grieving relatively quickly. It is difficult to remain in the tension of sorrow and excitement, as we simultaneously ache for “what was” and for “what will be.”
Even Jesus was grieved in the Garden of Gethsemane as he recognized what would come to pass. His soul was anxious and troubled knowing that a new hour was coming. In Jesus’ case, there was a very literal death and loss. Yet Jesus trusted that the Father’s will is good, which meant that what would come would also be good. Surely Jesus knew what was to come after the crucifixion, so why did He grieve? Well, Jesus’ grief was not absent of hope and trust. He acknowledged the loss that He would endure but committed himself to the Father’s will.
The truth is that changing seasons often terrifies us, especially when we don’t know what lies ahead. We often hold on for dear life to the things closest to us, trying to take control of something- anything. We like things comfortable. We like things consistent. We like things predictable. In our insecurity, changing seasons are a cause for doubt. We often mistake a changing season as a reason to believe that God is changing. But what we learn from Jesus is that when God leads us to something new (whether we view it as good or bad), it is a cause for trust and dependence. He teaches us that although our seasons change, God is constant and trustworthy.
So, we grieve with hope! We recognize the loss that has occurred or will occur. We gather together our dearest friends to pray as Jesus did. We may become sorrowful, anxious, or troubled. Eventually, the time will come when our spirits must be willing to trust in God, who holds every season in His hands.