The Winter of Loss Will Not Last Forever!

Part of the beauty of nature is found in the changing seasons. We know without a doubt that spring always follows winter, and with spring comes the indescribable beauty and joy of the plush green grass, springtime flowers in bloom, and the humming of birds. During the winter months, we anxiously await the coming of spring because we know with absolute assurance that spring will arrive.

And, so it is when we go through the winters in our lives. Following the cold, dark loneliness of winter that we experience when we go through loss, we can look with full assurance to the months ahead knowing that at just the right moment and in just the right way springtime will arrive. And, with spring will come new meaning, new peace, and a new sense of the beauty of life.

Can we extend the same trust in our loss that we extend to the knowledge of the arrival of spring? Can we watch the flowers blooming in spring and wait for the flowers to bloom in the garden of our heart once again? Can we trust saying an earthly good-bye to our loved ones knowing that they will still continue to be present with us and continue to love us? Can we rest in the knowledge that our love will continue to grow because we are grounded in faith and hope?

The winter of loss will not last forever. Hold on to the hope that your season of spring is soon to come! -Clara Hinton

“In the changing of the seasons, I find new hope.” -- Clara Hinton

“ There is an appointed time for everything. And, there is a time for every event under the heaven……….a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Jer. 3:1, 4

Facing the Future with Hope

When loss comes into our lives, dreams are snatched away and we are left wondering how to face the future. We feel like we’ve been thrown into a deep, dark hole with no way out. Loneliness becomes our only companion, and we lose all interest in the daily routine of life. The very things that used to occupy our time and bring us pleasure no longer have any significance at all.

Grieving is hard work, and it takes lots of time to travel our journey of grief. There is no road map to follow, so we don’t know when the next bend or twist in the road is coming. We can’t tell where there are steep hills or flat terrain. When we seem to be traveling along okay, suddenly we find that we’ve hit a mountain that seems almost like it’s impossible to climb. Grief is new, unexplored territory.

There is some amazing about our grief journey, though. It’s hard to explain; yet it happens all of the time. A rainbow appears out of nowhere and gives us hope. A butterfly lights upon our windowsill and we find ourselves smiling. A meal appears on our table from a neighbor and we suddenly feel less alone. An invitation to dinner comes and we feel loved. The telephone rings and we have a much needed listening ear.

God never allows us to travel this journey of grief alone. He sees to it that we have help all along the way. He gives us rest when we are weary, and hope when we feel lost. Just knowing that we have this added inner strength keeps us going until one day we find that we are no longer in that lonely hole, but we are sitting among the flowers and we can once again see beauty in life! --Clara Hinton

“Hope is the friendly, unexpected voice pulling us back to a warmer world.” --Clara Hinton

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” --Psalm 23:1

How Do You Explain a Broken Heart?

Grief is such a difficult thing to explain with words. How do you tell somebody what a broken heart feels like? How can you explain the feeling of emptiness that echoes like a hollow hole? How can you ever explain the constant gnawing that overrides every thought you have day and night reminding you of your loss? Grief. It’s something that really is not able to be understood completely unless you’ve gone through it.

Life following loss feels as though we have been placed in a foreign land and we cannot speak the language. We try hard, but nobody understands. They speak another language— that of happiness and joy. Our words consist of sorrow and pain. We feel as though we’re not going to make it in this new place, and we long for nothing more than to go back to how things were before our loss. Yet, we know that’s not even remotely possible.

Hope is something that crosses over all borders and travels into every land. Hope can find the tiniest crack and begin to take root and grow. And, when hope anchors to an empty heart, it begins to fill in the holes and we begin to feel like we are no longer strangers in a foreign land. Hope gives us a reason to go on when all logic tells us that we can’t.

God has given us an abundance of hope that surrounds us every day to provide healing when we feel so alone and lost. The sun, the moon, and the stars all point in the direction of God, the Father of all. The ocean and the miracles that lie below the sea remind us that God is always in control. We are not alone, nor have we been forgotten. And, the best part of all is that hope arrives at just the moment when it is needed most! --Clara Hinton

“Hope refreshes the weary soul.” --Clara Hinton

“Do not fear, I will help you.” --Isaiah 41:13b

When the Unexplainable Happens

Sometimes things happen in our lives that are so hard to understand. A car accident that takes a life. A house fire that destroys everything. A healthy, active person that suddenly becomes ill with a terminal disease. The company downsizes and many jobs are lost, yours included. Your world comes to a screeching halt when your child dies.

There are no words to explain such painful circumstances. It takes lots of faith to work through the days of lost dreams, unrest, and brokenness. When the world you once knew suddenly becomes foreign territory, it’s hard to stay focused and look to the future with hope.

God, in His wisdom and love, knew that we would need reminders of His presence with us during our moments of despair. We have only to look at the rainbow stretching across the expanse of the heavens to know that His promises are still true. When we watch the stars twinkling in the moonlit sky we can feel His presence in our darkest hour. When only our tears will fall, we can look at the morning sun breaking through the clouds and know that soon our tears will be dried.

God is our Father, and even though we don’t always understand the pain that comes into our lives, we can trust Him to pull us close and give us shelter through the storm. God is a deeply personal Father and Friend, and He will bless us individually according to our needs.

Hope is alive within the heart of everyone, and is awakened right at the exact moment when we need it most. That is a promise we can count on! -- Clara Hinton

“Sometimes it takes a lot of rain before we see the rainbow. Don’t give up! Your rainbow is there!” --Clara Hinton

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7