These days in Memphis there are several "escape rooms" where people actually "pay" to have heart-pounding fun solving puzzles, cracking codes and trying every possibility which might lead to a way out. A way to escape.
How does one escape life's hurts? How does one escape the "leaving one's head under the pillow mode" when life's realities seem too hard to face?
What if life hands you a reality of which there is no escape----the grief of losing a child, the fear of the terminal diagnosis, the infidelity of a spouse, an Alzheimer's diagnosis, the sudden death of loved ones?
2016 has offered these scenarios in bulk this year for many folks whom I know. The realities which offer no escape---no undoing of the event.
So, then the question changes from "why" to "now what?" How does one acclimate to a new normal" which is filled with loss and grief? Life as one once knew it, with its hopes and aspirations, is gone.
How does one hope again? How does one escape the darkness of despair?
How does one say as Matt Redmon wrote, "When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name."
Grief is real. Grief hurts.
The grieving process is necessary----tho there is no "right" answer to why or no right way to grieve. Even the time of the process differs.
But God.....hears us in our grief, no matter how long one "stays" there.
How does one unlock their seared and damaged heart to fill it with hope once again?
In John 14:18, Jesus says He "will not leave us comfortless & He will come to us." Sometimes I think the Lord uses us to "go" and offer comfort. Not necessarily "words" but time and a listening ear.
Maybe such a "caring" visit will offer a glimmer of hope to the grieving soul---even if it's just enough to get them to take the step to open the door. It can be a step toward sharing the experience and the pain with one who cares enough to "come" in His name.
Maybe just for a moment, one has a respite from the "pain" over a cup of tea shared on a comfy couch----maybe even allowing a brief smile to "escape" as two share time and hurt together.
