I miss you, Dad. Life will not be the same without you. You did the best you could with the tools you were given. You may not have always loved the way you should, but you did have a heart to help others. You made many mistakes in your life, but it’s not how you start- it’s how you finish that counts. You lived a crazy life, but I got to see the miracle I was praying for before you passed away. You accepted Christ and got baptized (something that seemed so far away- yet I watched it with my own eyes).
Nobody is too far for Christ to reach. God’s grace is incomprehensible to the human mind. None of us deserve it and yet it’s made available to those we would call the most evil. God’s love chases us down and He answers our prayers to reach and rescue our lost family members. Don’t stop praying!!!!!! He is faithful to watch over His Word to perform it. He saves for His name sake. If my daddy could be saved & baptized, anyone can.
I lost my dad about 5 months ago now. It was unexpected and painful. When I lost him, I cried out to God and asked, “How can this be? It wasn’t supposed to be this way- you promised my bloodline would be saved and yet here we are.” I was undone. I couldn’t understand. It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t tell anyone what I was thinking and then one of my trusted friends sent me the video of my dad being baptized not too long before this happened. She told me the Lord told her to record it and she didn’t know why, but then he passed and little did she know I had just asked God those questions. She sent me the video and told me the Lord said my prayers were not in vain. Talk about being humbled!!!!
As I was trying to process this, I heard the Lord tell me to “grieve the Godly way.” What did this mean? Is there an ungodly way to grieve?
Well I believe there is. I believe we can either cling to the Father to walk us through our grief and healing, or we can run from Him and even blame Him for what’s happened. One produces life- the other produces death and wounds. One brings true healing- the other brings a false healing and even more wounds. Time does not heal all wounds- only God heals our wounds. Time just gives us the opportunity to fill our wounds with things we shouldn’t. It’s like a mask we put on them and we just pretend they go away.
This is why it can be years since something has happened and when it’s brought up again, we burst out into tears just like when it happened. The Lord created the grieving process for us because He knew we needed it. We are humans and we need to process things and let the Lord in the process to heal us through it. Psalm 34:18 says, “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Our Father knows what pain and hurt feels like. Jesus came as a man and He experienced every feeling and emotion we ever would. He is not far off and distant from understanding our pain and suffering. He can handle our big questions and feelings. His Word shows us He is close when we are broken and grieving. And when God is close, things can’t stay the same. This post is very vulnerable to me. This is not easy to share, but I encourage you to grieve the Godly way. Let the Lord lead you through the healing process. Don’t run from Him, but run TO Him. He cares for you and truly does understand.
We will all have to face grief in this lifetime. Don’t try to pretend you’re okay when you’re not- run to the Father and let His arms wrap around you, collect every tear, and hold you until you begin to receive healing and rest. He is faithful. He didn’t cause the bad things that happened to you- that’s a lie from the devil.. but God can absolutely heal every single trauma and pain that you have gone through, if you’ll only let Him.
It’s been almost 5 months and the grief still hits me in waves but one thing I have learned is that God is faithful to walk with me hand-in-hand along this journey of healing. I can’t imagine where I would be in this life without my Savior. He is truly the one our soul longs for. I think about all the things my earthly father won’t get to see me do, but eternity is truly all that matters. All of these things on earth will fade away- but making it to heaven and bringing others with us is truly ALL THAT MATTERS!!!!!
Thanks for listening, I felt lead to share this today. Being vulnerable is scary, but it is our testimony that helps others overcome as well.
Hannah Smith, author of the Moving Mountains blog, is a woman who feels she has experienced a lot of life in her 33 years.
At 19 years old, Hannah joined the Army. After moving around the country, getting a divorce and losing what seemed like everything, she landed back where God wanted her in Ohio, even though she fought the whole way. She is now a devoted follower of Christ and seeks the Lord with all she’s got.
Hannah is married and a RN, but works as a stay-at-home mom to her 3 children per instruction from the Lord.
She loves to hike, travel, drink coffee, and talk about Jesus. Hannah also has a heart to create a home and life in which she can be a safe place for the hurting and the broken. Her biggest piece of advice would be to never tell the Lord you will never do something- because He will most likely then ask you to do that very thing, LOL!
To her readers, Hannah says, “I believe that God set every single one of you reading this apart, for such a time as this. It is my hope and prayer that God would use the words I say to change your life in a way you and I never thought possible!”
by leaps and bounds 
Leave a comment