One of the things I love most about my walk with the Lord is how He is constantly teaching me something new. For the past few years, I have intentionally taken time at the end of December to pray and write down the losses of that year. I resisted the process at first because I didn’t want to remember pain or dwell in it. Loss means some level of grief and I don’t like grief, so why would I intentionally take a trip down that Memory Lane? What He showed me, though, is the release and relief that comes with naming a loss. Even when I’ve already taken time to process a loss or tough situation, there is something holy that takes place when I take time to name it, write it down, and entrust it to Him. At the end of 2020, I found this to be especially true.
The end of 2021 brought a sweet surprise – the Lord asked me to write down all my losses, turn the page and then write down all my joys for the year. Yes, Lord! After taking quite some time praying and flipping between the two lists, He showed me how much longer my Joys list was compared to my Losses list. Yet, my losses didn’t feel diminished in that realization.
I’ve been accused of having a Pollyanna attitude in the past. Rushing past the pain to find the silver lining of the blessing. With every pound of criticism comes a least an ounce of truth. So, I paused to evaluate that statement and I found that while there is value to intentionally looking for God’s blessings, there is also value to acknowledging the pain. And if I am going to take the time to acknowledge, process, and name the pain, I don’t want it to be minimized. I want it to be valued and cared for. And who better to care for my losses than the Lord?
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
However, I had unwittingly subscribed to a lie that laying down my losses and grief meant both I and the Lord simply walked away from them. Leaving those precious parts of me just lingering there. That just didn’t sound like my loving Father, so I pressed in. He showed me a picture of me handing those losses over to Him and, rather than Him setting them down somewhere, He held them. He cared for them. He began a work in them that only He could accomplish … and only when I took my hands off. I had been carrying a skewed view of what it meant to hand your cares to Jesus. I thought I laid them at His feet and we both walked away when, in fact, He cares for what we entrust to Him.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Friend, have you been carrying something that needs to be entrusted to our loving Father? Fresh hurt, recent loss, or grief from long ago? Let me encourage you to take time to prayerfully name it and release it into His loving care. He has relief for you and He is trustworthy.
You are adored.
You Are Adored 