As the days drew nearer for my mom’s battle with cancer to come to an end, I had an overwhelming sense of despair come over me. With my dad having passed from cancer just three years prior, I was facing what I vocalized as feeling like I was becoming an orphan. According to WordNet Dictionary, the definition of the word orphan is: a child who has lost both parents. While I lost my parents as an adult, not as a young child, and have been blessed with an amazing husband to support me through both parental losses, nothing could prepare me for both of these losses, especially so close together. For a long time after my mom passed, I felt like an orphan because I no longer had the earthly support and tangible love from either of my parents and I felt completely lost.

Fast forward three and a half years to current day.  I recently received a prophetic word with these encouraging words:

“Tell her I hear her.” (Psalm 66:19)
“The Lord is so pleased with you and loves when you bring things to Him.
You are never too mature to be a ‘daughter’ and taken care of.”

I cried when I read these beautiful words written in a card by one of the leaders at our church Mercy Culture. You see, she doesn’t know my story, but she leaned into the heart of the Father on my behalf and He gave her these words of encouragement that I needed so desperately to hear. Some of you may have similar loss/grief stories to mine. Others of you I may not know you or your story, but Jesus does, so may I lean into your brokenness and whisper some encouragement to your hurting heart today?

1. He Hears You. Friend, let those words really sink in deep. God hears you. Every. Single. Word. Every fear, all the anger and disappointment, loss of hope and dreams. All. Of. It.  He sees every tear you cry or even the tears you bottle up inside. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8 You see, while I didn’t think much about God hearing my heart’s cry as an “orphan” three and a half years ago, when I received this prophetic word this week, the tears flowed because I am so thankful God heard my cry of desperation.  God has been the perfect Father a lost “orphan” girl like me needed “for such a time as this.”  He carried me during the darkest days of my life, remained my strength and renewed my JOY once again. I’m walking in joy and THRIVING because of His work in my life.
2. You are never too mature to be a daughter (or son) and taken care of. We serve a Father who loves us immensely and knows the weight of loss we face when we lose a parent, child, loved one or friend who is dear to us. He longs for us to lean into Him and trust Him in our brokenness so He can comfort us. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1  As adults we often forget that God calls us to the faith of a child, which means He gets to be our Father and fill the void of any and all missing/hurting relationships in our lives. He alone can fill that void beautifully. No vice of this world (alcohol, pills, drugs, shopping, etc.) can satisfy like our perfect Father. He’s the only One who can truly fill the void and make us whole again after facing such great loss.
3. The Lord is pleased and loves when you bring things to Him. The irony of grief is that when we feel most alone and in need of support, our Heavenly Father is already present in our time of need, He only asks that we be honest with Him. Part of my grief journey entailed a phase I coined as “embrace the suck”. In this particular phase of grief, I was raw and honestly acknowledging just how much the grief journey sucked. I hurt all the time, felt lost, had a slew of emotions like a yo-yo, didn’t see the grief ever ending and had no joy or passion for life. It was in this phase that I learned to “embrace the suck” because the harder I fought to not feel that way, the worse I felt. However, once I acknowledged the suck within the journey, I was actually one step closer to being free from my grief. You see, we can lie ourselves through the grieving process, denying the pain and it’s affect on our lives, or we can lean into it, as we fall into the relentless arms of Jesus, Who promises to carry us when we can’t take another step and feel utterly lost.
4. You are not alone. Regardless of what your head and emotions hiss at you, I promise, you are not alone. Jesus loves you enough to walk with you through the most painful of times, only asking you to lean into Him, listen to His gentle voice soothing your hurting heart, and trust Him with your heart. He is our refuge: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

My friend, today may you rest with confidence in knowing God is with you, He hears you, He sees you and He loves you. There’s not a single hair on your head that He hasn’t numbered, nor a struggle you have endured or are currently enduring that He won’t see you through. I have come to realize that if God brings me to the struggle, He will get me through the struggle! If you are currently in a grief journey and would love support on your journey, I encourage you to reach out to me and let’s connect. You’re not alone and I would love to walk beside you as you navigate these painful times.

Blessings to you!