“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).

Dear Grieving Heart…

Here I sit in my cozy space, tucked in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Even though it snowed last night, is bitter cold, I have warmth. I have food. I have all I need and then some. Beyond “some,” truth be told. Blessed abundantly, I am grateful.

But despite it all, my heart is heavy. Perhaps the Lord’s allowing me to carry a bit of pain–the ache of a weary world. The throb of loss and sin, of sickness and death.

Oh, this shadow under which we yet live.

What is one to do when she’s hurting, even if on behalf of another? Where does she turn? To whom does she seek comfort?

Prayer–that turning to God, then casting one’s cares to Him, as well as interceding for others.

Dear Grieving Heart…

I want you to know we prayed for you today. Two strangers who’d never met but became fast friends, joined by a kindred love for Jesus and a need for Him. Because sometimes–all the time–there’s no better place to turn.

And though our beginning objective was to pray for those particularly hurting due to the recent KC-135 fueling crash–that which took the lives of six courageous, sacrificial service members in the Middle East–our petitions were more.

After all, do our prayers only serve one particular mean to achieve one specific end? I dare say…

Never!

Prayer–it opens up the portal to heaven, and that which it achieves, though always according to God’s will, is endless. Far-reaching. Eternal.

Dear Grieving Heart…

This stranger-turned-sister and I prayed for you over the phone–yes, for the families of each fallen service member. For wives and husbands. Children and parents. Aunts and uncles. Nieces and nephews. For grandparents.

And we prayed for you, too, friends. Those of you who are also hurting. Like my sister-in-Christ, Sarah, who called me crying.

“Seth Koval and his family were my family’s dearest friends. Seth and my younger brother Robert were once inseparable.”

Somehow, something that’s flashed across the news is yanked right into one’s living room with a connection like that, and we cried together on the phone.

And then there’s Beverly who wrote to tell me–

“Alex Klinner was a classmate of my youngest daughter. They were in honors band together.”

Again, in one’s face, in her heart… just like that.

And what about the others–Curtis Angst? Tyler Simmons? Ariana Savino? Ashley Pruitt? Each chose courage over fear, sacrifice over constant security to serve our nation.

Dear Grieving Heart…

Prayer–it brings them close. No longer strangers, they’re sons and daughters. Husbands and wives. Parents and pals.

And though we don’t know their whole story–individually or as a military team–we know portions.

Seth had a young son. Alex loved music.

These truths make them real, no longer merely faces on a television screen.

Dear Grieving Heart…

As I said, there was more. When we prayed, our petitions turned toward our communities, our country, and our broken world. We asked that God use those in leadership to bring justice and that, above all, Jesus is glorified, no matter what.

Scripture was prayed–yes, that weapon one wields in prayer, that which is the very Word of God.

Because we believe–even in this hardship, despite this devastating loss, God can work all things together for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

We also claimed the promise that God bends low to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). That He collects each and every tear in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). That He will comfort those who mourn (Matthew 5:4).

Dear Grieving Heart…

You who are hurting–that’s God’s promise!

We believe our Saviour never wastes a suffering. We trust He isn’t finished yet, and will complete that which He’s begun, even if forward motion for you is simply a feeble crawl.

And we claim by faith that the One who we so often envision as Father will comfort you as a tender mother–quieting you with His love, singing over you a lullaby of compassion.

Yes, He takes delight in you. He–yes, He–is mighty to save. And…

Dear Grieving Heart…

Prayer is for another. It’s for me. Because I keep needing to lift burdens to the Lord–burdens like:

• A family’s devastation after losing everything in a house fire.
• A friend who’s adult child has relapsed and is far from Jesus.
• A battle with cancer for someone held dear.
• The death of a loved one.

I don’t pray for noble, pious purposes. Oh no! I pray because my aching, hurting heart needs God’s promises also. Yes–I, too, need His comfort to simply carry on.

And may it be so. In Jesus’s name…

Amen.

*****

My friend Raewyn Elsegood’s new book–21 Gifts: A Sacred Dance Through Grief and Healing— is available now on Amazon Kindle (coming out in paperback March 31).

Please consider purchasing a copy for a dear Grieving Heart. Perhaps for you.

I’ll be giving away one copy to someone who shares here a particular passage of scripture that brings comfort or a personal story of your own grieving heart.

I’ll draw the winner’s name on April 1st, then ship to their door (U.S. residents only).