12/16/2025
"Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you." John 16:22
Grief is, in my opinion, one of the hardest things we face this side of Heaven. It is certainly the hardest thing I have experienced - harder still as the holiday season is distilled into every sight, every sound, every smell, and even sometimes every taste of daily life. The season's cheer tangibly flows into the air but this time it's not quite right. It's encountered with an uneasy spirit and feels forever altered.
For myself this holiday season, it wasn't until it was right upon me that I understood it was irrevocably changed. Sad forever? No.. but absolutely different. We grieve in the space where a missing person once stood - now lost to us in this life - and the unexpected dissolution of the things that once were for which they seemed to be the glue. I have come to see in these last 9 months that these losses and changes are neither unique nor singular in themselves, aside from being the first of many to come and both entirely unexpected. Who is next to go? Only the Father knows and none are truly guaranteed tomorrow, though we tend to live like we are.
However - for those who seek it, there is solace. There is peace in the promise of joy incoming. A hope that even death cannot maim. A leading hand that lifts your heart from the drownings of grief and sets you on your feet among the waves, where you can walk by His side. His name is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Through Him we have the promise of everlasting life - without death or grief - with Him, the Father, and those who trust in Him.
I trust I will see Momma again in Glory just as I trust I will see the face of my Savior. I will rejoice! Now, in my faith and hope, and then, in its fruition. Whether you grieve or not this holiday season, let Him be your joy, light, and hope, always.