|
Hi , After episode 224 dropped last week regarding the fifth anniversary of the death of our friend Suzanne, her husband, Martin shared something interesting with me. It is a poem someone shared with him in the early days of his grief. It came from a Facebook grief group, but the author is unknown. Martin found it comforting, so I am passing it on to you. Grief has seasons.
Not the kind you can track on a calendar.
Not winter, spring, summer, fall.
But the seasons of the soul.
There’s the early season—the stormy one—where everything is loud and raw and sharp. Where tears come without warning, and the pain sits on your chest like a weight that won’t move.
Then comes the quiet season. The outside world seems normal, but you feel like a stranger in it. People think you’re okay again. But inside, it’s still gray. Still empty. Still aching.
There’s the angry season, too. The one where you're mad at everything and nothing. Where you snap, retreat, question everything, and silently scream at the unfairness of it all.
And the numb season—when it doesn’t hurt as much, but you also don’t feel much of anything. You float. You function. You wonder if this is healing or just surviving.
And maybe, eventually… the tender season arrives. Not a season without sadness, but one where the memories bring more warmth than sting. Where the love feels alive, even in the absence.
But here’s what they never told us:
These seasons don’t come in order.
They don’t stay for a set time.
They loop.
They repeat.
They collide.
One day you’re okay.
The next, you’re not.
And that’s not failure.
That’s grief.
Grief doesn’t follow the rules.
But it does follow love.
And love, real love, lasts forever.
So if you’re in a hard season right now, hold on.
Another one will come.
Not easier… just different.
And eventually, you’ll learn to live in the rhythm of them all.
* * * * * * * Click here if you missed last week’s episode, or if you want to hear again, “God Cares For Us In Ways We Rarely Consider.” Until next time, I wish you all the joy that you can wish.* John Certalic * The Merchant of Venice, Act III, scene 2 |
Articles
“At the end of the day, nothing matters MORE than relationships.” — John Certalic
Relational Encouragement Found in an Unlikely Place
God surprises us sometimes with relational encouragement found in unlikely places. In doing so he may even use voices from the long-forgotten past. I experienced an example of this recently
Relational Observations for May 2023
As I write this blog post a few responses are starting to trickle in from my May 17th entry, “I Need Help.” I’ll be sharing some of them in the
Learning From Our Losses
A quote I heard this past week took me back to the time when our daughter was in college and the summer she toured with a Christian singing group, The
I Need Help
I need help. Lately, I’ve been waking up earlier in the morning than I want to because so many ideas are spinning around in my head like a Ferris wheel.
Remembering: The Great Antidote to Pride, Fear, and Anxiety
To remember well isn’t as much about recalling the past as it is about the hope it gives us for living well in the future. Remembering is the great antidote
Provide the Best Life You Can For …
I’ve been out in the tool shed working on the next season of my You Were Made for This podcast. In between all the hammering, welding, and dust flying around,
Relational Intelligence in the Age of the Artificial Kind
We’re hearing more and more about artificial intelligence these days, but I don’t hear anyone talking about relational intelligence. I wish we did. Few people are born with it, yet
Good People Are Out There
I came across a great example of good people doing good things that I thought you would find encouraging. It illustrates well a passage found in the Bible, Titus 3:14,
An Unusual Way to Connect With God
If you’re a person of faith as I am you’ve probably learned about ways to connect with God. Where we initiate the connection through Bible reading, prayer, listening to music,
Search Our PodcastsArticles
Search to find what you’re looking for
