Today has been such a pretty day, bright blue cloudless sky, warm sunshine to take the chill off. I didn’t ponder on the porch this morning, it was just too cool. Guess I’m getting old but I sat in the lady den glued to a four hour movie about Wyatt Earp. Nothing I love better than a western movie. Went from the western movie to a National Geographic documentary on elephants. Guess I’ve been a couch potato today, Penelope, too.

Mid afternoon I sat on the porch for a little while and watched the birds happily visiting the feeders. Fatty chewed the perch off one of the smaller plastic feeders and made a big hole on the side. I saw him hanging upside down raking the seeds in his mouth. Guess I should be mad but I like watching his frolicking on my old oak tree so I’ll just overlook his indiscretion this one time.

I went back outside at sunset and sat in the swing watching Mother Nature brush a pale orange across the horizon, starting a forest fire of color that burned into the aqua clouds high in the sky. The sky was colored in rainbow sherbet layers of pineapple, raspberry, and blueberry. The sun walked on the sunset stage dressed in an apple blossom pink strapless gown. Her only adornments were a necklace of Mikimoto pearls and a Tiffany’s sterling silver cuff bracelet. She was escorted down the horizon by Father Sky, handsome in his navy business suit.

As they walked down the horizon the sky began to dim and the colors faded into a pale twilight. Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight as she turned out the day’s light. He went to wake the milky moon and twinkling stars to light the way for the Lyrid meteor showers. The day ends as the shooting stars begin.

When I was watching the western movie today Wyatt Earp’s father told him, “Life is all about loss, but we go on.” I’m pondering that sentence and thinking of all the losses we face in a lifetime. As children we say good bye to faithful pets and much loved grandparents. Some of us lose our parents before we’re ready for them to leave us. Others such as myself, suffer the nightmare of burying a child and the inevitable death of a beloved spouse. We lose our homes, we lose our jobs, we lose our friends, we lose our dreams…but the world keeps turning on its axis. Loss is just an inevitable and difficult part of our lives. Grief is a very personal healing journey that everyone walks at their own pace.

“There are two things in life that change you forever, love and grief.” Found this on the back of an envelope with no one to credit. I’ve read that great love gives way to great grief. Love is a powerful emotion and can change us. We have to be brave when we risk loving because the price of losing that love is grief.

I love this quote by Jamie Anderson. “Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All of the unspent love gathers in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in the hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.” What a wonderful expression of grief, “just love with no place to go.”

Grief can lead us back to our life as we realize our capacity to love is endless. Our loved ones are gone but we still love them and find peace in the memories we carry in our hearts. Our grief is our final act with the loved one we lost, reflecting the depth of our emotions.

God’s love is powerful. He is with us when our hearts are broken, helping us travel our journey of grief. When we turn to God in prayer he can be a great comfort in our time of suffering. He can give us hope of tomorrow’s sunshine. Jesus says, in Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

“Grief is like going through a tunnel—and sometimes we wonder if we’ll ever come out the other end. But God has not abandoned you, and He wants to comfort you and assure you that He is with you. Jesus’ words are true: ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.’ (Matthew 5:4)” —Billy Graham