The Other Side of Grief

Mar 31, 2014 | Faith

I was talking with a friend the other day about life, and I found myself laughing.
We were sharing some things that are going on in each other’s lives, and I realized that the entire time we talked I had a smile on my face.
I felt so happy, so full of joy.
And I said out loud to her,
“Is there an “other side of grief” while I’m still on this planet?”
I’ve grieved for so long over the loss of both Adrienne and Nick that it almost doesn’t feel right to be okay feeling so full of joy.
I love and miss them both so much.
How can I laugh so often, smile so much, feel so full of hope?
As I thought about the concept of an “other side of grief,”  I thought of Jesus’ words in John 10:10,
I have come that they may have life, 
and have it to the full.
The reality is this:
Jesus conquered death on the cross.
Jesus took the changing of the seasons of nature and
made them a reality in the course of human of life.
Man had lived a long time facing death with no hope of anything more.
Winter had lasted a long, long time for mankind.
Then Jesus came.
He broke free from the grave.
He rolled away the stone.
He kissed death goodbye………………….forever.
And the day of His resurrection marked the ending of winter as mankind knew it!
No wonder the disciples ran and spread the story of Jesus even in the face of persecution and their own earthly death.
They had watched their friend die a cruel death on a cross and then shared life with Him again as a walking, breathing, laughing, hugging person.
Their long winter became a glorious spring.
And I believe that “YES” there is an “other side of grief” on this planet.
I believe that eventually everyone whose heart is broken, whose life has been shattered by loss, will find reasons to love life again even here……………………………when Jesus is their source of Hope and Strength.
How long will winter last?
I think it’s different for each of us.
I can’t measure my season of grief by the length of anyone else’s, and we should all be careful not to judge the season of grief for anyone around us.
All I know is this:
A long winter only intensifies the beauty of spring.
 
So, today, if you find yourself in the middle of a long, winter season, please believe me when I say, I have spent a long, long time in that season too.  I understand your sadness.
 
But also believe me when I say,  “Your spring is coming!!!”
 
Not that you will never feel sadness again or be ambushed by grief when you walk into special places or smell certain fragrances or celebrate significant anniversaries or holidays.
 
Life will still be hard.
Life will never be the same.
 
But I do believe Jesus came to give you life to the full even in your grief, and because of that, I do believe your spring is coming 
HERE on this earth.
 
You will laugh again here.
You will feel complete joy again here.
You will feel deep pleasure again here.
How?
 
By trusting in the power of the cross and Jesus’ earthly resurrection.
 
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 
“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

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