Collective Grief

April 13, 2020

By Rosella Shishido, Director of Communications

These are sobering times that are forcing us to really evaluate what’s important in life. Rearranging our priorities will also involve letting go of things we’ve been used to. And letting go is never easy. We can’t help but grieve over what we can’t have anymore.

In her recent podcast, researcher Brené Brown interviewed David Kessler, an expert on the subject of grief, who claimed that we are all experiencing collective grief over the loss of many things due to COVID-19. We all have lost something we value. All of us. All at the same time.

Whether it’s the loss of  …..

·       family and friends

·       physical connection

·       physical touch

·       routine

·       work

·       having a graduation

·       having a wedding

·       going to school

·       gathering for meals

·       gathering for worship

·       being able to visit someone in the hospital or a care home

….. we all have lost something. It’s natural to grieve when we lose something we value or love.

What have been your losses? What are you grieving over?

Our Lord Jesus knows what it’s like to grieve. He wept when His friend Lazarus died (John 11:35). He grieved in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prayed and thought about His impending death. (Matthew 26:36-39)

I take comfort in the fact that Jesus knows grief, and He can relate to our loss and what you and I may be feeling right now––sadness, disappointment, anxiety, fear, guilt, regret, shock, or numbness. We can entrust them all to Jesus as we live through these times. He never wavers, and He’s not caught off guard by the coronavirus.

Recently my friend posted on Facebook a beautiful photo of a sunset with a quote from Dr. Craig Lounsbrough: “Despite how dark it might be, what is tonight but the precursor to tomorrow?”

Yes, these are uncertain times, but things will get better. We can always put our hope in Jesus, who has overcome death and sin. He is our constant. He never changes. (Hebrews 13:8). And He is more than able to handle our collective grief.

Prayer:  “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

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