A Message for Those Who Are Grieving the Loss of a Loved One This Christmas

With the Christmas tree decorated and the cabin trimmed in holiday cheer, everything was as it should be until the phone rang. Life instantly shifted.

The world, as my grandson knew it, was irrevocably changed by a car accident that took the life of his best friend and his friend's dad—who was also his coach. A drunk driver cut short the lives of four people in that car—two fathers and two sons.

Some of you have gotten calls like that—losing those you loved in an instant. Perhaps others of you had more time, but it was just as final.

As the Christmas tree lights twinkle softly and the line-up of toy snowmen on my fireplace mantel smile innocently, what can I say to a broken family?
Those who mourn rightly ask—why does God take such young people? We do not know.

But here's another question: In whom can we lean when we grieve with such awful wrenching sorrow? God.

Not able to contain my grief within the four log walls of the cabin, I walked out into the darkness of night.

The brilliant display of millions of stars reflected the majesty of God, but these untimely and devastating deaths reflected the brokenness of this world.
God knows that devastation. He lost His son too. But first, He gave him to us on Christmas, so that we'd never walk alone as we travel through life, with all its shards of brokenness and pain.

We can walk with Someone who understands our pain and collects every tear we ever shed.

Grieving is incredibly hard—and different for each of us. We can't replace the lost lives. The holiday season of celebration is incredibly hard when we miss those we love. God knows.

But He heals us in ways the world never will. So, breathe in deeply and let Him into your heart to begin the healing. God knows how.

"I am God your healer". Exodus 15:26

For my friends who've also lost loved ones, I pray for your comfort during this season of hope.