If you love, you grieve.

Today was All Saint's Sunday ... a day where those who have gone to heaven before us are honored and remembered.  I walked into church already weepy due to a conversation I had with a friend about the upcoming holidays.  (I am dreading them! She is trying to encourage me. I am stubborn.)

The tears kept coming during the sermon ... a testimony about a miracle of healing and seeing not just the single set of footprints in the sand of God carrying them, but also all the 100's of footprints of those walking beside them on their journey.  God carried, yet they weren't alone.  Is that what I am been blind to? The other footprints of those who are walking beside me on this journey? Or am I truly alone? I just don't know.

Pastor made some points in his sermon that have struck me and I am still processing:

When we die to darkness, we can rise to light.
When we die to hatred, we can rise to love.

When we die to pride, we can rise to true purpose.

When we die to greed, we can rise to gratitude.

When we die to earthly treasures, we can rise to deeper faith, joyful community and a life of purpose to reaching more.

When we die to the things of earth, we can rise to hope. 

When we die to fear, we can rise to adventure. 

When we die to bitterness, we can rise to friendship.

When we die to sin, we can rise to true freedom. 

When we die to ourselves, we can rise to all these things.

Heaven is real. + Death is real. + Grief is real.

If you love, you grieve.

Heaven is real because love is real. 

Hope is real because grace is real.

Joy is real because forgiveness is real. 

Yes. I love. Yes. I grieve. Likely too much.  Grief can consume a person. It can overwhelm and blind to so many other things including hope and joy.  Grief isn't just about missing a loved one ... it can also be about changes - wanted or not.  Grief is often a lonely journey, but it doesn't need to be. Looking back at the footprints in the sand, many are surprised to realize that there are many, many more than one set.