Grief

Pray to God, but continue to row toward shore. -- Russian Proverb

This seems particularly relevant right now. I know people who are having trouble doing either of those things at the moment. It can be difficult to pray when something so incomprehensible has happened in your life.

This week, I have found that I don't really need to say anything while praying. Sometimes it's enough to just be still and silent before God and rest in the knowledge that He understands my pain and holds me in his Arms.

"In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings." (Romans 8:26)

It can also be hard to keep moving forward with life. Ordinary things seem not to matter as much and can almost feel like treachery against the one you've lost. One life has been ended, but the rest must continue.

It begins with baby steps.

(As one of my baby steps, I plan to post photos tomorrow from our North Pole Flyer train ride. Some of them are exceptionally cute!)

My Uncle Jim has come down from Minnesota and is going through the unimaginably difficult task of sorting through my Aunt Linda's things. He's already grieving for the awful things that happened to his sister, less than a week ago.

As he goes through the house, he's finding evidence that the violence started some time ago. There are holes in walls that are covered with pictures. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all was the book that he found on Linda's nightstand.

It is called The Gift of Fear: and Other Survival Signals that Protect us from Violence by Gavin De Becker.

The tagline on the front of the book: "This book can save your life."