Heartbreak and Gratitude - An unlikely pair.

We have had heartbreak. Losing my mother-in- law the week before Christmas brought a cloud of grief to our family. Once again Greg and I, Greg's dad, his sisters and their families and our children have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. We re-grieved the loss of two sisters. Our hearts are hurting.

On the plane as I made my way home I was reminded of Paul's words,

"Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:1-5 NLT) "but we rejoice in our trials..." Rejoicing was not what I was feeling.

But I was reading The Jesus Mission and in it Steven Scottt says that a grateful heart  is a visible sign of faith. The more I considered Paul's call to rejoice amid the heartbreak and Scott's reminder that a grateful heart reveals faith in Christ, the more I realize I have a lot to be grateful for:

I am deeply grateful for a mother-in- law who treated me like a daughter and leaves behind a legacy of love and faith.

I am so grateful for a family that walks through grief together with patience, compassion, and a commitment to unity.

I am grateful for friends who have comforted us, cared for us, and prayed for us during  times of grief.

And I am grateful for the promises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I don't know how we could walk through the heartaches of life without hope that God will walk beside us in this life and receive us into a glorious eternal life when we leave this place! I don't know how we would get through the grief if we didn't have faith that we have purpose in this life. I am grateful for a God who is all knowing so we don't have to be!

I am grateful for the promise that there will be a time when the tears and sufferings will be gone and rejoicing will be all we have to do! 

Until then -I will continue to be grateful for all that I have in front of me.

Grateful for the blessings,

Dawn

Comments

[Pam Satterfield]

"A grateful heart is a visible sign of faith." This will be my new quote to tape to my mirror this week.

After the first part of our church-wide study, I have been thinking a lot this week about what it means to be a "Contagious Christian." I have such a negative frame around "evangelism" that I have had a very hard time reorienting some of the things that I heard in the video and read in the book so that I can apply it to my life. Your post gave me a way that I think I can do that. I have spent quite a lot of time the past few months consciously filling my heart with gratitude for the many wonderful people God has put in my life. I have also learned to be grateful for the gentleness of God's whisper and care in a way that I was never aware of before. Does God put pain and hardship in our lives to "make us stronger?" No, absolutely not. Can God work through the hardships in our lives to help us become stronger? Absolutely, yes.

I am so sorry for your family's loss, Dawn. Thank you for sharing your pain and your gratitude with us.