Encouraging You to Journey through Grief with Jesus

Give us five minutes, we’ll give you encouragement!

Transcript

0:00:04 - Eric

Glad you chose to listen to Your Encouraging Five-Minute Podcast.

0:00:08 - Heather

Yes, we are, we're. 

0:00:09 - Eric

Eric and Heather, over the next five minutes, we're going to give you some encouragement, bring you some good news, just to lift your day. And, by the way, after you've listened in the next five minutes, if you need more encouragement, we invite you to listen to WPER, Virginia’s home for encouragement. If you have the app, great. If you don't, you can download it through the app place where you get your apps Just search WPER. 

0:00:32 - Heather

If you have never been through grief, consider yourself very fortunate. Grief is a bear, grief is a beast. I think Eric and I have both lost a parent, and I tell you what it's. It doesn't matter if you are mentally prepared. It sends your orbit way off. 

0:00:50 - Eric

So many, uh, people have defined it over the years and when you're going through those hard times, you see something that you can connect with, you hear something that speaks to you. 

0:01:01 - Heather

It's not the same for everyone. No, no, no, but you know the things that I do notice. That kind of like common thread is that most people when a loved one passes, we don't talk to our friends or family members about that loved one who has passed. 

0:01:20 - Eric

You want to be delicate, you want to kind of be sensitive to what they may be going through or what they're experiencing. 

0:01:27 - Heather

So I think we either hold back or we try to say something we think might fit people in the past few months that have lost big and are grieving so hard, and each one of them, and myself included, we miss being able to talk about the one that's gone. 

It's nice to know people still remember our loved one. And my kids were really little when my mom passed and we all lived together my mom and dad, my husband, our kids, we all lived together in a little rowboat and it was great until it wasn't. And when she passed, like the kids wouldn't talk about it because I cried, but they were so little. The only thing they knew is that tears meant somebody was upset. But sometimes grief makes your eyes leak and your heart smile, right. And so lately my daughter's been asking questions about my mom and you know it's okay to talk about the one who has passed because I think, especially from my aspect, like my mom had a ton of friends and she was so funny, and when I do get like a little email or a text from somebody that says, oh, I was just thinking about your mom, Like if you've never lost someone, people really do appreciate being able to talk about their loved one. 

0:02:52 - Eric

And to be able to talk with God too, as you go through it. You know his word says in so many different places and Psalms. 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit, which that phrase alone just spells it out. Sometimes you feel crushed in spirit, but he's close and he heals the brokenhearted. He binds up our wounds and we're blessed. Yes, those who mourn are blessed. We will be comforted. There's so many verses that are there to encourage us through these times of grief in life and if Heather, like I said, if you haven't experienced it, know this, the time will come. We're trying to encourage you and let you know that you know with God. He will get you through. 

0:03:36 - Heather

Oh, absolutely. And you know what I take comfort in the most no-transcript. He knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew that, but still he experienced loss. He experienced grief, he experienced the pain of losing someone he loved deeply and still, knowing he was going to bring Lazarus back to life, he went through the grief process. He knows what it feels like and that to me is a great comfort, knowing that when I cry out to Jesus in pain he's like oh kid, I get you. 

0:04:16 - Eric

It's never too late. There's always hope it can happen, even for the small things. God is in the details of our life, writing our story, and at any point, something you've been praying about or hoping for can happen. 

0:04:30 - Heather

Absolutely. It's so funny that you say that because a friend of mine, for her 45th birthday, got a dog. Actually, she got two puppies, so that's right. And why is that so significant? She has literally wanted a dog as long as she could remember, but her parents didn't want pets, because it's just a lot of work with a bunch of kids, and then life circumstances don't line up. 

Yeah, and then you live in a place you can't have them Well they got a house last year and now she has two dogs and she is as happy as if she was in the first grade and you brought home two puppies. 

0:05:02 - Eric

Worth the wait, though, right? Hey, we hope you've been encouraged today. For more encouragement, make sure you listen to WPER. Download the app. Just search WPER where you get your apps.