Loss . . . Time . . . Becoming New

Saying good-bye to a child, a parent, a spouse, or a friend when you are not ready is a challenging and difficult battle. I have lived long enough to have a list of individuals that I miss, who continue to impact my life not only because of the way they lived but how they lived in my life.  At the end of the year, I am more aware of the time we had and the time we have missed. Loss becomes a part of our life.

Standing. 
Staring. 
Waiting. 
Wondering if life can ever be the same again.  

Because I have experienced significant loss, I can say with honest confidence that there is an answer:  Life will never be the same . . . but. . . .loss can be an instrument of transformation . . .  in and through Christ to become new:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17, TNIV)

Not that I have loss figured out, but one thing I know is that loss can bring us to God in a way that nothing else can.  Loss creates a hole in our life.  Healing from the pain of the loss of a significant person in our life requires us to take steps of trust..  So.  We learn to take one step and then another step towards trusting God more.  I do think that loss gives us the ability to understand that we really don't have control of anything that matters.  And . . . only through Christ . . . there is power . . . as close as His presence . . . to live fully despite loss. 

The thing is . . . I can't figure out how God makes us new when we experience loss . . .but when I go back, again and again, to Psalm 46:10 . . . I understand there is one thing to do when the world turns upside down with loss . . . and that is to become still and know that God is God. 

Take time to be aware of the time you have had with significant individuals and the time you have missed.
Trust God in all of it.
Receive the power of Christ to become new . . . to experience a rebirth . . . of life.
Be still and know that God is God.

Learning to KickStart the day becoming acknowledging loss . . . in gratefulness for the time received . . . , becoming new,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie L. Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)