the God of all comfort

TheCarrolls-74

So we’re doing fine. We really are doing fine. It’s a crazy thing when you realize that life does go on after a life-altering loss. We get up. We put one foot in front of the other. We get dressed and go about our regularly scheduled activities. We even smile and laugh!

We keep up with our commitments and do lots of things that we enjoy. We celebrate the joy in friends’ lives and in our own lives. There are still joyous events to celebrate.

People stop us a lot and ask how we’re doing and kind of give that look like they’re bracing themselves for me to cry. And sometimes I do cry. It’s funny that I can answer the same question and be totally straight faced with one person when I give an answer and dissolve into a puddle when I give the same answer to another person.

The day of Hudson’s class Christmas party, I was delivering his class treats to the school office and passed a friend who stopped me and hugged me and reminded me that she, too, had lost her parents at much too young an age. And a moment was shared that I’ll never ever forget. I know that our Heavenly Father uses others and their experiences and their grief to minister to me right now. None of them ever say it will get better. Almost all of them cry. And they all tell me that it’s absolutely okay to keep talking about my mom.

These kind friends, acquaintances, and sometimes complete strangers will take time to reach out to me to offer me words of comfort. And to take time to allow themselves to get back to a place of their own grief to grieve with me. And as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians, we are each uniquely equipped to comfort someone. And I’ve been so blessed by the kindest people.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

The Holy Spirit was there in those moments. Comforting us. Holding us. Reminding us of His goodness and His love.

I was driving Hayes and James Walker home this morning and an unexpected wave of pain washed over me, I couldn’t catch my breath, and I immediately began to sob. What was it that I wanted to text her? What story from the Golden Globes did I want to tell her?

How is it that if I forget that she’s gone for 90 seconds, I experience grief again as if for the first time when I remember?

These moments happen a few times a week. And I am sure they’ll continue to happen.

I know that God gives us more than we can handle. He gives us the hard stuff because He wants us to trust Him to handle it. And that’s exactly what I’ve had to do. I have to fully trust that He is good, and loving, and merciful, and He also happens to be preparing a perfect place for us where we can meet Him face to face.

And I’m confident that when I get to heaven and I meet him, I won’t even want to know “why” my mom had to die so young from melanoma. Why she never got to hear her youngest grandson say her name. Why she never got to see my brother get married. I know that those things won’t matter to me because I’ll be so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of who He is. Can you even imagine?! I try to, but I know my imagination doesn’t even come close.

The night my mom died, my dad and I had been praying with her all day. We’d read letters to her, sung “He Touched Me” next to her in the bed, and squeezed her tiny little hands. (I pray, pray, pray that I never forget how those hands looked and felt.) My dad and I tried to manage her pain all day and she was mostly out of it all day after being in severe pain the previous day. The hospice nurse tried to prepare us and said she would probably pass away that day. We had texted our closest family and friends that she was probably within hours of dying.

Todd and my closest friends had all spread the word to begin to pray that the Lord would call her home. This life of suffering and pain had become too much and we just prayed that He’d call her home to heaven or heal her. We couldn’t bear to see her suffer any longer.

At about 9:30 p.m., my dad and I moved to my mom’s bedside as the rhythm of her breathing began to change. We prayed some more. We told her we loved her and we were proud of her. We promised her that Walker, Todd, and the little boys were all doing well. I promised her I’d take care of my Daddy. And at 10:10 p.m. she stopped breathing. We wept over her and cried and thanked our precious Jesus for the gift of having someone so incredible and fierce to be our person, our mom, my dad’s life partner. We missed her immediately!

A few minutes later, I picked up my phone and saw that at 9:30 p.m. I had been flooded with text messages from Todd and friends saying that they were all praying right then for God to end her suffering. They’d each been prompted to pray and to tell me they were praying. And in that moment and in that realization, I’ve never felt closer to God. Knowing that so many were praying the same thing and that our Father answered their prayer and that my mom was standing in His presence… is there anything more incredible, humbling, and bittersweet?

We have so many moments from that night. It was a long long night as we waited for hospice to arrive. When the hospice nurse got to my parents’ house, she introduced herself and I immediately recognized her name as the mother of a high school classmate of mine who was tragically murdered a few years ago.

We were able to talk about him and she cried as she spoke about her son that she misses so much. She was with us for about three hours, and when she hugged us goodbye she said that she’d been comforted that night just to be able to spend time with someone who knew her son.

Jesus doesn’t miss an opportunity. We just have to ask for those opportunities, and I know that now. In my grief and anguish over my mother, I was still able to provide comfort for this mother. And it’s the same for me as sweet friends reach out to check on me and pray for me and send me encouragement. They’re each such a comfort to me.

I keep saying this, but I’m just completely overwhelmed with gratitude and the realization of God’s love for us. He wanted my mom with Him even more than we want her here with us. It’s hard to sit in grief and sadness for too long when we realize the fullness of His grace. The God of all comfort loves us so much.

 

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Comments

  1. Sally Self says

    Erin,

    Your words comfort and inspire me! After losing my dear dad in 2012 I joined the choir. The family feeling that we share there has been an anchor to sooth my soul since my loss.
    God knows what we need when we are in need.
    So glad that He has intertwined our lives.

    Sister in Christ,
    Sally

  2. Emily Ley says

    This is so beautiful, Erin. Your mama was clearly a wonderful woman with a heart full of love. She passed it on to you. Praying for you and your family xo

  3. Arrie says

    Thank you for sharing your heart. I too, lost a parent at a young age and now 7 years out, I can assure you that although the longing and missing never goes away- Jesus is so sweet to being reminders that will make you smile instead of cry. I recently read “through the eyes of a lion” by Levi lusko. Please get it and read it. It has life changing perspective on looking at heaven and dying through an eternal lens. We are praying for you and your family!

  4. Leah says

    I’m so sorry for your loss. I lost my dad when I was about your age and was seven months pregnant with my 2nd baby. I still can’t believe that she will never know him. But you’re right, God is faithful. He puts people in our paths who meet us where we are. Praying for you in the days and weeks to come.

  5. Rachel says

    I’m so sorry for your loss and will pray for you and your family. Thank you for sharing this post. My mother also passed away last month so reading this brings comfort. God is so good.

  6. Keisha Dawson says

    Thank you so much for sharing your heart! It is so awesome to see God’s goodness in such sorrow. Continuing to pray for you and your sweet family!

  7. Meredith Weinstein says

    As I read your latest post…tears streamed down my face. I lost my father 8 years ago, and relate to everything you have said. Praying for you and your family as you grieve the loss of your Mom.

  8. pam myers says

    Erin, I have been praying for you and your family ever since i read the post you wrote on your birthday. I have lost my parents within the last few years
    and my heart just aches for you at the loss of your precious mother. I am so thankful that you have decided to write about your feelings and share.
    your faith..your words have been a great comfort to me. writing is definately one of your gifts. Thank you

  9. Britt says

    This all spoke directly to my heart. I know exactly how you feel having lost my mother suddenly 11 years ago, when I was 23 and newly engaged. The grief hits in waves and truly takes my breath away at times. I don’t know what I would do if it weren’t for my faith. God provided me with the best mother I could have imagined and comforts me like nothing else can. I will continue to pray for you and your family. Only knowing you through your writing, I can tell your mom helped shaped you into a kind, loving, faithful, and wonderful woman. Wishing you all the best!

  10. says

    I am sobbing right now after reading such a beautiful post. I have prayed for your entire family over the past few months. I am in awe of you. You have such a beautiful heart and I admire how you have handled the passing of your sweet mama. I wish I could say I handled things similarly after the loss of my parents, but I didn’t. I was a lost soul and I didn’t draw near to God. Quite the opposite actually. I am grateful that you have Him and He has you. It gets a little easier with time, but there is no getting over it. There are still times I want to reach out to her and then grief overcomes me all over again at the realization those are days gone by. Having said that, God is good and God is faithful. We can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. And the light of each new day gives way to the promise that today will be a little easier than the yesterday.

  11. Wesley Gallagher says

    Erin, this is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing such an intimate moment of your life! I’m so sorry for your loss.

  12. Michelle says

    Erin, this is such a beautiful post! Thank you for sharing your heart; it brings comfort to many of us who have lost loved ones. May God bless you and continue to give you strength.

  13. says

    Erin, I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for this beautiful post today. It really touched my heart, as I lost my father unexpectedly in November. I keep expecting to answer the phone and hear him there! Blessings to you and your family.

  14. Mandy says

    Oh Erin, I will continue to lift you up in prayer. I cannot imagine your grief. I lost my grandmother in September and I just wanted to share with you that I think it’s such a gift to be with someone when they meet Jesus face to face.

  15. Rachel says

    I am sitting down for the first time in a long time and catching up on my blog reading. What a beautiful post this was, Erin. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes as I think about the words here and how He uses all of us at all times to draw others near to Him. I’m continuing to pray for you as you walk this path, and I know He is holding you near right now. Wish I could wrap you up in a hug right now. It’s been too long!

  16. says

    I don’t know you or your family and stumbled upon your blog while cruising through Bloglovin’ on a Sunday night while enjoying the Live performance of Grease on TV. And now I’m sitting here sobbing for you and sharing in your loss and in awe of your strong faith and trust in the Lord. I’m so sorry for your loss and your heartache. Your story is so touching and please know you have people who don’t even know you who are cheering for your peace. Thank God for his promise that you will be reunited with your mom again one day. xoxo

  17. Sue says

    I randomly clicked on your blog from Kelly’s Korner today and read a couple of your posts. This is such a wonderful testimony that God has given you. I just wanted to share that my mother went to heaven when I was 26 and after more than 40 years her hands are still very real in my mind’s eye. Those and her smile/laugh are the things that I see most in my memory and are precious. The tears still flow at times.

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