Embracing Our Pain

I never thought I could get through the loss of my mother. Until I came out of the other side of grief.

No one seeks out pain and sorrow,

but when it comes, we cannot just turn it away.

Loss is a part of life. Death is part of life. Heartbreak is part of life.

We must accept it. We must embrace it.

We must embrace our pain.

Hold it close, and let it touch our hearts.

Let it rattle us. And desolate us. And roll through us.

It will, eventually, unfold a strength we never knew.

If we are to live in the world, pain cannot be avoided.

Let us use pain, then, to grow and evolve.

Let us respect pain for its power to bring us to our knees,

and its ability to help us rise again.

Let us recognize pain for showing us how very much alive we are.

And, by its contrast, for it is reminding us that we have known joy,

and that we have something to compare it to.

When we lose a beloved … it is devastating.

Heartbreaking. Seems a loss too huge to bear.

But time heals all breaking hearts.

Good memories begin to gain strength over loss.

And once we pass through the worst, the darkest days,

we are stronger and better. We remember the best.

But what a great power there is in an open, hurting heart.

It is the sting of loss that eventually makes us stronger.

Then one day, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The sun seems brighter, and so does life.

We remember the one who has passed over,

but with a sense of blessing for all the love left behind.

A new day is born . . . and gratitude replaces sadness.