I love comfort food.
There is nothing I like more when it's rained for 3 days to curl up on the couch with a huge bowl of hot cheesy macaroni and watch Netflix.
I like comfy clothes.
I am still waiting for it to be wholly acceptable to wear exercise pants to work everyday.
I like to be comforted.
When I am upset, angry, or sad- I want to be comforted. There is something about being told your feelings are valid, just, and true that makes it better.
I like to comfort others.
I want to listen and console them. I want them to know they aren't alone--ever. Things will get better.
Last week one of my dearest little lambs (lamb is a pet name I use for my "special" people in my life) whom I love so much, got thrown into that completely overwhelming sea of grief. As soon as I found out I was instantly overwhelmed with grief for her.
My heart broke.
That sea is harsh and unrelenting and you NEVER want someone you love that much to be carelessly tossed into it.
But the thing about it is this- that sea is full of God's faithfulness. FULL OF IT.
I went to be with her and her family and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I was so blessed to see her and all of her friends come together to honor their dear friend. I was honored to be able to be there and help them do what needed to be done.
I was able to comfort in the way I had been comforted. And comfort comes in a million different forms while you swim aimlessly in the sea of grief. One day it's someone bringing food. Another day it's someone taking you to lunch. Then it's someone doing your laundry. And sweeping your floors. Other days it's people coming to be with you even if you sit in silence.
Comfort is everywhere- you just have to want it.
I look back on the last year and a half and I am SO AMAZED at how far God has brought me.
I remember those first few hours and thinking there was no way I was going to make it through this.
I really doubted God, myself, and everyone around me.
But God had other plans.
He promises to never give us more than we can bear.
He teaches us how I bend and not break.
He teaches us how to rely on His grace and mercy and sovereignty.
If we let Him- He comforts us.
That pain- it never goes away.
But it changes.
It lessens over time.
It becomes something you can use to comfort others.
"The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will." (Isaiah 50:4 NLT)
