Well, the topic of grief was at the forefront of my week. Our ladies group talked about our own grief journeys. How we have dealt with grief and were we prepared to experience grief. Mixed-bag of answers. As I listened to their stories I had two thoughts.
-growing roses on my barren soul (this is a line from a song and I envision in loss it saps our hearts, minds, and souls but to think that God can bring forth the beauty of a rose is able to grow which to me represent healing and our growth of joy within the pain)
-It matters how a person dies (In my own experience that I shared)
The deepest grief I shared was when my daughter died of SIDS one week before my 18th birthday. I explained that I didn’t celebrate my birthday for 20+ years. I didn’t celebrate St. Patrick's either as that was her birthday. The grief eases as the years pass by but it still is very present in my life those 2 times a year especially. I also share a “grief” month with my best friend whose love of her life took his life leaving her in a lifelong state of so many unanswered questions. One other person at my table said she was the only sibling to survive a car wreck so lives with survivor’s guilt. She is constantly trying to prove that her surviving matters to her family and to the world. All situations are hard to wrap our minds around which is natural.
Here are some points:
-God can handle your anger
-God can listen to your harsh words-even when you want to say “I hate you!”
-God can handle it all-just bring it to Him and set it at his feet
-He is our great comforter
I am not sure if you know who Diamond and Silk are, but if not they are two very outspoken southern women who spoke truth to the world. I read their book “Uprising” and I loved it. Interesting fact: Diamond at one time once as a fight promoter. They are so passionate and colorful, so when I heard that Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway passed away at age 51 I had to watch her celebration of life. Watching had me looking at the difference between a funeral and celebration of life:
Funeral-defined as to contemplate the meaning of life-to say goodbye-to remember the person.
Celebration of life-there are no contemplation-the life lived was the meaning-there is no goodbye, but we will miss her, but God needed her more so we celebrate her spiritual legacy that lives in all who knew her. Her life was salt and light, so a chapel wouldn’t work so they were in a huge auditorium.
Highlights:
-Older brother had the whole auditorium singing “My Girl.”
-Her son said he is a living legacy of his mother. He described her as a front line soldier against the evil happening in our country. Then he said the challenge will be taking up the mantle as she would be proud of him
-Her father expressed words of wisdom: “God gave you these children to take care of them,” “Cherish your children-parents don’t forget to show your kids how precious they are so don’t just say ‘I love you,” but love them through life,” “Don’t let the school raise your children,” “You are born with certain gifts."
-Silk spoke and what a powerhouse. Their “Chit Chat” show will continue. She said she was going to celebrate her sister’s presence as one who had a sharp tongue, but a kind heart; so here are mentionables:
“Hey Ya’ll” when she wanted your attention
“Don’t get lost in the sauce”
“I gotta get the mofo straight”
“Don’t get it twisted”
“See, hear, and feel the realness”
“You may not pay what you owe, but you will pay what you sow”
“Let the life I lived speak for me”
Diamond was political, she called out corruption. She loved humanity so she spoke the truth to help people. She knew she was a warrior in spiritual warfare so her purpose was to Awaken America to fight the “demonic bastards.”
Silk ended with singing a song I had not ever heard before. I learned that the song is an
“African American ecumenical hymnal #408”
“Satan, We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down” by Shirley Caesar
The Preachers are gonna preach your kingdom down, Oh Yes
The Mothers are gonna pray your kingdom down, Oh yes sir
You've been building your kingdom, all over this land
Satan, we're gonna tear your kingdom down.
Then she held her hand up and said “spoiler alert! Satan doesn’t win!”
***side note she does talk about her sister’s death and connection to the vaccine so I am sure she will be talking more about that on her Chit Chat show. Also Trump did speak, but Diamond and their family all loved him and his family as they had intertwined the families.
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” ( Philippians 3: 20-21).
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4).
“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands” (Psalm 138: 8).
Prayer: That the body of Christ would stand strong for biblical values and not be silenced by fear of rejection, abandonment, or any other thing. For the church to be wise as it pertains to these spiritual dangers, that none of God’s own will be destroyed for lack of knowledge. For revelation and exposure of all things God would have us bring to the light.
dreamsdontfade.com (new podcast posted)
Just beautiful words in those needing a healing moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuI4NP0fR-8