I’ve been going through a grief devotional (really several, but one that I absolutely read through daily) on my Bible app. It covers multiple types of grief, not just death of a loved one. Just in that, it’s a comfort to know that at some point, we ALL go through grief of some kind. Some people may not experience a death of a close loved one until middle age, while others experience it as a young child. That being said, we also go through grief differently.

I’ve undeniably and obviously been missing my Dad for months and I’ve been feeling it a lot lately. It comes in waves. I can go days without losing it and other days it’s like Dad is all I think about and I’m filled with the memories we had. Sometimes these devotionals are just what I need…

My Dad had cancer. He’d had it as a young man and beat it. Then 40 some years later he received more cancer, fast, undetected, growing, aggressive. Within a matter of like two weeks, he was gone from this Earth.

His hospital journey left many in awe. How many people do you know receive the news that they have cancer, joke about it and then ask visitors if he can pray for THEM? That was my Dad. What a testament to faith and hope.

My Dad was far from a perfect Christian but his actions in the face of trial and really in the face of death spoke volumes. I’ll never forget what he gave me then ~ this example that this isn’t our home and what’s left behind doesn’t matter. Everything is going to be okay.

Just as it says in that passage from the devotional, cancer isn’t going to win. The devil won’t win, either. Our hope is Christ alone. The only way that the devil would win is if I fail to praise Jesus through the storm ~ whatever that may be.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

1 Peter 3

Just as God makes all things good, He makes your grief work for good too. Don’t be afraid to share your grief experience with others. That’s what I’m working on. I hope you will too.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28