We're apt to look for enjoyment, especially at festive times, but those selfsame festive times exacerbate the ever-present struggles of life. When we look deep into ourselves we cannot ignore this pain; the pain in others' lives if it doesn't impinge on us more directly.
The well-reasoned and due-in-season complaint - one of Job-like proportions - is one where we experience such grief worthy of sackcloth and ashes; an entire self-loathing in the Presence of God, despite thought for disobedience, regarding the apparent captivation by misfortune. Life is such a thing that compels us beyond belief for what sorrowful things are endured. Only something so real as life could do this.
Is there life after death? Many have asked that question for years, but I believe I have experienced it first hand through my husband's death. Now, years later after his death... I'm Thriving, not just Surviving!
I'll leave it to others to summarize what has been a most remarkable life. My own son said it pretty well, however. My wife and I were having dinner last night in a restaurant when he texted me to say, "Guess what Dad? Steve Jobs died."
When you lose a loved one due to death, separation, divorce, or other circumstances, it's natural to go through a grieving process. However, grieving is not just something we experience when a person dies. You may be grieving the loss of a cherished home you've had for a long time, or a job that you loved working in. There are many things that may cause us to feel the need to grieve in order to come to terms with our loss so that we can move on with our lives.
