TriciaHudson.com

This morning my husband and I cancelled our flights to Orlando for next week. This had been a long-anticipated vacation with our best friends of 30 years and I am very sad that we can’t go. Last week my son and daughter-in-law had a miscarriage and I grieved deeply with them.  I took a walk last night and saw signs in the windows of our neighbors saying “We miss our neighbors!”  What I have realized in this time is that we are all experiencing some level of loss in the middle of this quarantine, and it is ok to acknowledge that loss.

We’ve lost a lot of our freedoms and our sense of security.  We’ve lost our ability to gather together as a church body and hug each other.  Some have lost their jobs. Some, like my daughter who is a senior, are losing the last part of their senior year, their prom, and quite possibly their graduation ceremony. The list could go on and on.  We could all share stories about the losses we are experiencing. It seems to be loss upon loss, and the cumulative effect it has on us should not be ignored.

It is okay to give ourselves time to process and grieve the losses.  Take time to grieve but don’t stay there.  Our grief can cause us to become focused on what we do not have anymore, but gratitude can be one of the most healing tools we have.  Being grateful for what we do have is a powerful way to deal with and heal our grief.  Make a list of all the things you have to be grateful for, and spend time in prayer saying those things out loud and thanking God for all the good things.

Another way to deal with our grief is by meditating on scripture.  There are so many encouraging scriptures that have been popping up on social media lately.  Here are a few that I would encourage you to meditate on during this time:  Deut. 31:8, Psalm 27:1, John 14:27, Romans 8:15, and Hebrews 13:5-6.  The truth is that God will never leave us or forsake us.  He has promised to be near and we can trust Him to keep His word.