We often think of grief as a past and present oriented emotion.
Something happened in the past, and since then, we’ve been experiencing deep grief.
But the aspect of grief we don’t talk about often is how much of our grief can be about our future.
When someone we love passes away, we grieve the future events that we will want them at but they will not be there.
When a friend leaves our life, we grieve the times and memories we could have made together.
If we lose a spouse or child, we grieve who they should have grown to be.
If we lose a career we grieve where the job could have taken us.
Maybe we are grieving our childhood or innocence. But we are also grieving how our future will always hold the pain of what happened to us.
We grieve future plans.
We grieve future dreams.
We grieve what should have been.
Grief can consume all of our focal points: past, present and future.
But to the grieving heart reading this, I also want you to know that grief does not take away your future.
It’s okay to grieve the dreams and hopes you had for the future.
But the grief doesn’t mean that a good future isn’t still possible.
I believe that God works through grief in amazing ways. And I’m not just saying that he simply takes grief away.
Sometimes he does.
But sometimes he transforms us into people who can continue living even with grief in our heart.
He makes us strong.
He helps us keep going.
He shows us what it means to find joy in all circumstances.
He also reminds us that He alone holds the future.
So the future that you are grieving is in His hands.
He knows how to get you through.
He knows how to show up for you, too.
It’s okay to grieve what you need to, but don’t give up on hope.
Because there could be a lot of joy coming for you, too.
I know it might feel impossible right now... but anything is possible with God.
Grief is powerful, but it doesn’t determine your future.
God does.
~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog