He holds our heart

 Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

When I was told that my mom passed, it took my heart a moment to catch up with the words my ears heard. The first thing I felt was shock, followed by numbness, and then before dealing with this fully I have a church to feed as I received word right before taking to the pulpit. I'm convinced this is the body's way of protecting itself. Looking back on those early hours, I'm in awe that I could function, let alone, preach, then drive after receiving the news. 

It makes you wonder: How does the body even manage when one of the worst things that could happen to you does? As the hours passed and I began to absorb the enormity of the situation, I was sure my heart wouldn't survive. But I discovered that somehow, a broken heart still beats. 

Loss of a loved one is more brutal than anything I've ever encountered. I've been through the death of close friends, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, church members, and other loved ones. But the death of a parent is a loss like no other. I honestly thought my world was shattered beyond repair. However, the sun rose every day, and the moon appeared in the night sky when the day was over. Other people's lives went on when my own had just driven entirely off course. 

When our loved one dies, no matter how many tears we shed or if we cry so hard that we're left gasping for air, our broken hearts still beat.  

Some think we are strong because we managed to survive the loss of our loved one. But really, what choice did we have? We must keep going – one step, one moment at a time. 

Others ask, how do you do it? I attribute every step I've been able to take along this journey to my faith in God. If it weren't for my relationship with Jesus, I would not be able to function, let alone live. We will all go through loss at some point in life. No one is immune to traveling this path. What we do and how we handle the loss is equivalent to how the rest of our lives will unfold. 

Placing our brokenness into the hands of The One who made us is our only hope. He is the healer of all broken things (see Isaiah 41:10). He is our Comforter (see Psalm 23:4). The Healer of every shattered heart is also the Promise Keeper (see Joshua 21:45), who promises to heal the broken-hearted (see Psalm 34:18). And He promises never to leave us nor forsake us (see Deuteronomy 31:8).

There is no specific time frame for grief. Just don't give up. If you're deep in the valley right now, hold on. Help is on the way. Reach out to The One who longs to hold on to you, and He will carry your broken heart that still beats in His gentle, loving hands. 

“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (see John 1:5)