Looking Back and Seeing God's Faithfulness
Finding God's Faithfulness After Loss
After Jon passed, I didn’t know how we were going to make it. There were so many questions running through my mind.
How am I going to be able to do this without Jon?
How can I raise my kids alone?
How am I going to be able to provide for my kids?
Am I going to have to get a job outside the home?
Will I still be able to homeschool, or will I have to put them in school?
Will I be able to stay in my house?
How am I going to manage the house and the cars on my own?
How can I help my kids process what has happened when I can barely hold things together?
This is just the tip of the iceberg. And if you’ve lost your spouse, you know the overwhelming questions that seem to be ever-present.
Even with all these questions, I knew God was faithful and that He would provide. But I didn’t know how. Sometimes the unknown caused anxiety and worry about the future. I wanted to know how everything was going to be taken care of, and I wanted to be able to control the outcome.
But that’s not how God works. He asks us to trust Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
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Finding Joy Without Feeling Guilty
Is It Okay to Be Happy After Losing Your Spouse?
This is a difficult topic to talk about. There are so many opinions out there about what is acceptable for a widow after losing her husband. And it can be hard to do what you feel is right when the expectations don’t align with that.
It IS okay to be happy after losing your spouse.
I know that’s an easy statement to make and much harder to live out.
After Jon passed, I was so tired, so sad, and I missed him dreadfully. I couldn’t imagine being happy again. Sure, there were moments when someone told a funny joke, or my kids did something that made me smile, but the joy had diminished.
Grief is hard. It weighs you down, and sometimes you feel like you can’t breathe.
It starts with the shock and the thoughts of “this can’t be happening.” You kind of move through the motions, but everything seems like you’re in a dream.
Then the harsh reality starts to set in, and you realize he’s really gone. He’s never coming back. You have to do this alone.
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