My last post stated that I had nothing to say - but surprise - I do! I scrolled down on my own blog and saw that I had written about prayer. Little did I know when I wrote that post that I would experience the subject in a whole new way a mere two weeks later when my life turned upside down.
My stepson unexpectedly died and everyone I ever knew sent their "love and PRAYERS" through calls, cards, emails,visits and Facebook messages. In my previous post I asked whether people were really praying or was that just a way of saying "I'm sending you good thoughts." So God answered my question in a most amazing way.
I FELT, with every cell of my body, the prayers that were being prayed for my husband and me. Can I explain what that means? Not really. No one's prayer took our pain away. No one's prayer stopped the flow of our tears. No one's prayer changed the shock and sadness. But this is what I experienced: A true sense of being lifted up, somehow held up, an undergirding of faith and hope. I cannot describe it better than that. There was hope and the promise of peace.
Going through the agony of a funeral home visitation and funeral is emotionally exhausting and confusing. In a moment your life has changed forever. But we made it. We were held up by all the beautiful things people said, by the stories of their own beliefs about heaven, by every hug and shared tear. This, to me, is the tangible expression of those prayers - and how it comforted us.
I also learned that during the weeks and months following a loss, prayers are needed as much as ever. Keep calling the grieving family, keep visiting, keep telling them beautiful things about their loved one - and especially keep praying for them.
3 comments:
It is a beautiful feeling to feel those prayers. I have also found that during a time of grief, there are many little miracles that happen in between the sadness and shock. Those moments are the seeds of healing that is starting to take place.
Your post brought tears to my eyes.
Hugs.
My prayers are with you and your husband. I lost my daughter to cancer when she was almost eleven years old. Recovering from her loss has been the hardest thing I've ever done and has taken most of my life. I was only 34 years old at the time. I am now 70 years old. Over the past 10 years I have had some very good psychotherapy, which has taken away my pain and brought me to peace. It has been a spiritual journey. I am happy to say, that for several years now, I have been at peace about it all. I understand that she had her own journey, and I have had mine. I KNOW that she is safe and happy. I have experienced many connections with her, psychicly. She is always with me, ALWAYS. I lost her body, but I didn't lose her. Please remember that you WILL eventually heal. Although, for me, I needed help to heal. Gratefully, her twin brothers gave me reason to live and heal.
-Sheila
Thank you Lena and Sheila. your comments also touched me and I will share them with my husband.
Post a Comment