The Strength of Gratitude in Mourning

We understand how difficult it is to travel this path of grief and how important and monumental the loss of a loved one can be . So we created this podcast to help you walk with God as you grieve your losses , understand what's happening in your heart and soul as you grieve , to be available in the best way we can to accompany you on this journey .

You're always welcome in this circle of healing , love and support . I praise You with all my heart , singing a hymn to You before the divine beings . I bow toward Your holy temple and praise your name for Your steadfast love and faithfulness , because You have exalted Your name . Your word , above all , when I called You , answered me . You inspired me with courage .

All the kings of the earth shall praise You , o Lord , for they have heard the words You spoke . They shall sing of the ways of the Lord . Great is the majesty of the Lord . High though the Lord is , He sees the lowly . Lofty . He perceives from afar . Though I walk among enemies , You preserve me in the face of my foes .

You extend Your hand and with Your right hand You deliver me . The Lord will settle accounts for me . O Lord , Your steadfast love is eternal . Do not forsake the work of your hands . My Bible opened to this psalm today Psalm 138 , as is written in the Hebrew Bible , and I remembered how important it was to be grateful .

I am grateful to God for the life I had with my father . It's true that death and grief and mourning have affected civilizations and peoples and groups and families and societies forever . The ancients tried to make sense of this , but in one way it was familiar .

They had grown up with birthing and dying --plants and animals , harvests and seasons , and much of the Old Testament talks about these difficult times , both in families and groups and societies , settlements , villages and tribes .

So we know , we are familiar with it as the rhythms in life , the rhythms in one person's life , the rhythms in the life of a family or a village or a tribe . We seek solace from one another . At the same time we are trying to do our own mourning . We are trying to step back from that , from our own grief , and assist others .

Some people can do that better than others . I used to pride myself in being able to both step inside someone's grief process yet remain separate from it , and now I find I can barely leave my own . I'm surprised when people don't know my father's dead , but of course people don't know my father's dead .

I hope that the revelation of my own process here is not an indulgence , that you are finding my struggles useful; are of some use to you . The days go differently . I was able to surrender to overwhelming grief at the time of the funeral and service and burial , which felt both proper and needfu l .

But now I am experiencing a low level of grief , like a buzz in the background that continues . That you can't quite ignore . But I want to say here and today that I am grateful to my God .

I am grateful that He surrounded me through this difficulty , that I felt His arms around in other people's embraces to forgive me and love me and continue to carry me and accompany me on this journey , for which I am truly , truly grateful , and I acknowledge His presence , His goodness and His healing as we travel on .

That concludes another episode . A new one drops every Friday . Please join us on Spotify , amazon Music or Apple . Thank you for joining us . Spiritual direction is always available . See my contact email in the show notes . This is Candee Lucas , your host , chaplain and spiritual director . Go with God . Namaste , vaya con Dios .