I am reading a book, set in pre-World War II.  In it, the author describes the grief parents experience when their child dies.  The author is so accurate in her description, that I wonder if she also has lost a child.

I think that when we become parents, we become vulnerable in a way, we never had experienced before.  Our child’s pain becomes our pain, their dreams, our dreams, their successes, our successes, and if we should lose them in this life—we never recover.  The hole they leave in our hearts will always be there, until we too, cross the boundaries of this world and enter into the next.

We have set aside this weekend to honor and remember all the fallen soldiers and all the loved ones who have gone before us.  I am also going to remember their parents, and the ones who have suffered their losses.

If you are one of those who remain behind, I want you to know, you will be prayed for, and that you share company with God Himself.

God is a parent.  We like to think of God as all-powerful, and invincible, and He is, but because of His love for us, He has made Himself vulnerable to us.   His love for us makes Him vulnerable to us, just as our love for our children, makes us vulnerable to them.  Our pain, becomes His pain, our dreams, His dreams, our successes, His successes.  And if we should turn our backs on Him, and break fellowship with Him, He grieves. 

Talk to a parent, whose child won’t talk to them anymore.  They grieve.  In scripture, it tells us that the Holy Spirit grieves when we sin.  Sin is saying, “Hey—I want what I want, and I don’t care who it hurts.” Sin is walking away from God, and God grieves.  He is vulnerable to us.  He didn’t have to be vulnerable to us, He made Himself that way, when He created people who could choose to return His love or not.

I have learned more about the love of God the Father, from being a parent, than anything else. 

If you are grieving, God knows your heart, because He grieves as well. 

When Jesus was here on earth, He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet He wept at Lazarus’s grave site with Mary and Martha.  He was able to enter into the moment with them and grieve.

So, this weekend as we grieve and remember, please know that we have a Heavenly Dad who shares and enters into those moments with us.  I hope that encourages you, as it does me.