When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,It is well, it is well with my soul…..

Psalms 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Yes. Yes I know its Tuesday. Forgive me please 😦  It has been probably one of the toughest weeks of my life this  past week. On Wednesday of last week my aunt on my dads side passed away and on Thursday of the very same week  my uncle on my moms side passed away…. Yes you read this right. Last week I lost and aunt and an uncle less than 36 hours apart… Its been a rough week. Needless to say I experienced the emotion of grief this week. Not only grieving for myself but for my parents as well.

What is grief? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,grief is described as deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement;  a cause of such suffering.

However, even in the midst of my grief, I never experienced the despair and depression that comes along with it. I have been blessed with an amazing group of friends and church family that have truly outdone themselves when it comes to the gift of compassion. From my friends who came to see my parents and brought them dinner, the text messages and endless phone calls and social media words of encouragement; to those wonderful co-worker friends sending a care package to my house and physically kept me going ( literally fed me and took over my role at work without me even asking) and most importantly the prayers of those who know and serve the God I serve, conveyed a source of comfort.

I don’t know how people deal with such hard circumstances without a strong support system.Please, whatever you are going through , talk to somebody! I’m not one to really show my emotions not even to my family. I don’t like to have people fuss over me. I always have to be the one who is the comforter. But a person can only take so much and there is a small handful of people who have seen me get there. But this time, even though my heart was breaking for myself and was absolutely shattered for my parents, I was overcome with such peace. A peace that could only come from my God.  A ” peace that transcends all understanding”, ( Philippians 4:7)

The song, It is well with my soul just kept me repeating over and over in my head. Especially the part of the song that says, “whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say, It is well with my soul.”

I know that no matter the circumstances, how grim the situation may look, that I have a heavenly father right beside me mending the pieces of my grieving heart. I know that He has put people in place to stand in the midst and lift me up and that he has enabled me with strength I didn’t even know I could possess. I stand in awe of a God who loves me that much to ensure that even when life looks bleak I am able to see light at the end of a dark tunnel. I don’t ( and never will) understand Gods plan, but I do understand that God has A PLAN.

So rest on in paradise Aunt Lynn and Uncle Ken. Your service here on earth is complete. Rest on in the arms of our savior and I will work hard to see you again….. Sleep well

xoxo