Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
Many years ago I had an ectopic pregnancy. This led to emergency surgery in a hospital we had never been to, as we were traveling when it happened. We had crossed the country for a wedding. When the radiant bride walked down the aisle, with our daughter as her flower girl, I was in the operating room. The disappointment of missing that family event was, at the time, eclipsed by what was happening to us. But it weighed heavily on my heart for a very long time that we had missed the wedding of my husband’s only sibling.
Nineteen years later, I find myself facing cancelled events as we are currently cloistered in our homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Many graduations, weddings, and celebrations have been cancelled or postponed. We have multiple graduations in our own family that may be cancelled. My heart weighs heavy again.
There is no remedy for this kind of disappointment. We can keep a healthy perspective, and know that it is for the greater good, and even something we do willingly. But that doesn’t change that it hurts our hearts to do so. We will need to find the balance between allowing ourselves to feel these feelings, but not to wallow in them.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Something that I say often, and have said in previous blogs, is that God does not gasp. We can find peace in knowing that He already knows what the future holds for us, even in the frightening unknown of a pandemic. As Christians, let’s remind each other that He holds us fast, and that He loves us infinitely. May you find comfort in Him.
I love this perspective of allowing ourselves to feel these feelings of sadness and loss, but not to wallow in them and let them overcome us. Great blog!
Thank you for making the point about acknowledging our feelings and not wallowing in them. It is OK to be sad and disappointed we just can’t get stuck there. Thank you for putting words to what so many are feeling right now.
I was thinking about this recently. Whenever someone wants to dismiss our feelings as sin, like you should have JOY. Paul was singing in prison. I remind myself that God created that emotion and Jesus felt it. How many times was Jesus disappointed by Peter? Minimum of 3 times. Thanks for sharing your heart. It always blesses me.