Here you are again blindsided by pain. Just when you thought the rollercoaster of life was on level ground, your world has been turned upside down by grief once more. I’m not writing about physical pain but soul pain–the kind that squeezes your heart and steals your breath. There are not enough tears to wash this kind of pain away. Embracing hope despite the soul pains of life is never easy.
I’m sure everyone has experienced this type of gut-level ache at some point in their lives. If not now, then sometime in the future. The survivors of the wildfires in Maui understand how it feels to reel from sudden trauma. Even though our individual experiences are different, soul pain is universal. No one can escape it. You will not avoid it with wealth, power, or social status. And those who love the deepest seem to suffer the most when the ones they care for are lost. How then do we move forward through this overwhelming pain when all we’d like to do is pull the blankets over our heads and hide? Where is hope found within your suffering?
Hope From the Past
When soul pain threatens to drown me, it helps to recall where I found hope in the past. After the death of my youngest sister in an auto accident decades ago, a compassionate pastor sat with me and listened. I don’t remember a word he said, but I knew he cared. He walked along side me for many months, helping me carry the pain until I found the ability to live with it. The pain has never fully gone away but I learned how to hold it in my heart without allowing it to destroy me.
Embracing hope means choosing blessing over bitterness.
That experience at a young age, pushed me into the field of medicine where I could walk alongside others in their own grief journeys. As difficult as a career in healthcare can be, I’ve never regretted my decision.
Hope In the Present
Hope in the present comes to me in the form of my family. Far too often, we’re grieving together. We lean on each other for solace and pray for mutual strength. Friends, especially within the Body of Christ, keep me standing. This is the power of community. I am forever thankful for my church families in Indiana and in the mountains of North Carolina as well as my fellow Christian writers. You are my people.
Isolation leads to despair, but community builds hope.
Hope For the Future
Even as this sounds counterintuitive, it’s in suffering that we grow into our best selves–able to help others in their suffering. Through this refining, we are transformed from selfishness to selflessness. But it’s a difficult journey. This is why Jesus said:
“Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”*
The promised reunion with our loved ones who have gone on before us is our heavenly hope. But belief in Jesus is not simply about gaining a future eternal life. The Kingdom of Heaven that He spoke of, starts now. Jesus offers us power, strength, and purpose during our earthly life as well as in our future heavenly existence.
Whatever pain has blindsided you, don’t allow it to defeat you. Choose blessing rather than bitterness. Don’t isolate yourself but lean on the support of family and friends. And most importantly, give your burdens to Jesus. He will carry them for you and give you strength for the journey. Embracing hope despite the soul pains of life is never easy. But with God, all things are possible.
*Matthew 11:28 NIV
Photos taken on the Big Island of Hawaii by Rosalind Montgomery
Thank you for this touching message of Hope! You always encourage us along life’s way and bring the light of Jesus to lead us along the pathway.
May God bless you 🙏
Nancy Kerr
Thank you, Nancy. Hang on to hope! Miss you!
I believe the depth of our grief at the loss of a loved one is in direct correlation to the depth or our love. The more the love, the greater the sorrow when our loved one is gone. Your message is just what those of us still in the midst of grief need on our journey to peace. Thank you, Suzanne.
While I was in training as a medical student, a psychiatrist once told me the price of love was pain. Over the years, my experience has shown this to be true. But the flip side is this–love is worth the pain.