March 3, 2012

  • RWOTD {Loss}

    Loss ~

    It is one of those words, like love, that should not be responsible, on its own, to cover the whole scope of emotion that it does.

    One word is simply not definitive enough to capture the wide range of emotions that are associated with it.

    For example, you can lose your car keys or you can lose all hope.

    You can experience the loss of a pet or the loss of a best friend.

    Loss can happen suddenly or so gradually that you barely take notice of it.

    Sometimes losing something is a decision we make (losing weight) and sometimes the loss is completely decided for us. (a death)

     

    Loss can be shared with others who are experiencing the same series of events, but Loss is still intensely personal, very deep, and often times can be very lonely.

    Sometimes you don't notice that you lost something until it is completely gone.  Or, as the saying goes, there are times when you "don't know what you've got till its gone."

    I don't think we can pretend to understand the loss that another person is going through, because everyone processes grief and sadness differently.  It may look one way in one person's life and completely different in another's.  I don't know if there is a right and a wrong way to process loss or a set amount of time that you have to work through it.  There may be healthy and unhealthy ways, yes, but even so, everyone has to fight those battles on their own.

    Some losses are so deep that you never completely get over them.  Others may only take a matter of months or weeks to work through.

    Sometimes loss comes about just because of the expectations that you have associated with an event or a relationship or a stage of life.  When those things don't turn out according to what you expected, there can be a profound sense of loss and disappointment that you have to deal with.  Yes, you can choose to go through life with lowered expectations, but that takes a toll as well.

    Sometimes it is the loss of a dream that gets to us, sets us back, and throws us for a loop.  There is that spot in life, where I think we all find ourselves from time to time, when reality and dreams collide into that realization that what you hoped for is probably never going to happen.  And you have to do something with those feelings.

    You can choose to stuff them, you can pretend to ignore them and hope they disappear, or you can talk about them, you can try your best to process them and hope you can allow the loss to grow you as a person and deepen your faith in God.

    I don't know who all is reading this, I don't know what loss you may be experiencing in your life right now or what losses from the past you are still working through, I don't pretend to know your whole story or the depth of what you are facing, but I do want to encourage you in this:  Loss can be a great motivator to draw us towards the One who will NEVER leave us or forsake us.  

    And that may be one of the ways that God brings good from bad and redeems the losses in our lives!

Comments (7)

  • in my head and heart...based on my own experiences.
    this correlates to that pin you shared in a recent post. :)

    and how i've received an "invitation to intimacy."
    and i am grateful.

    so glad that i found this post before i logged off.
    *must get butt off of this chair!*
    meaningful. profound. encouraging. thanks audrey!

  • I don't know if there is a right and a wrong way to process loss or a
    set amount of time that you have to work through it.  There may be
    healthy and unhealthy ways, yes, but even so, everyone has to fight
    those battles on their own.

    this is SO true!
    just the word loss scares me....

  • Your first sentence there?  It's really good, Audrey.  Really FULL.  Actually, this whole post is.

    "There is that spot in life, where I think we all find ourselves from time to time, when reality and dreams collide into that realization that what you hoped for is probably never going to happen. And you have to do something with those feelings."  Amen.

    You were thinking deeply today.  I don't really have anything to add to this.   But I like posts that make me think.

    (and because you are you, I am glad that I have not lost a friend over last week's kerfuffle)

  •            everyone has to fight those battles on their own...regaurdless of the loss or the expectation we are all humans fighting some sort of battle. Maybe if we all showed a little of Christ love (no matter what the reviews are on a person from another person) perhaps we could help a friend in a way we never knew! Thanks for the post...its a deep subject here and "loosing" is a scary situation.

  • Thanks for putting it in perspective.  I've been such a downer lately.  Thinking of loss and when it can mean makes me want to live a fuller life.

  • i'm like lisa..the word loss scares me.
    iknow it can draw me to Him- but sometimes, i feel unwilling to go.

  • Loss is a frightening concept to so many because it entails CHANGE, and with change is always the unknown outcome. I like it, Artie, that you remind us that no matter how many shadows descend upon us, how many dark valleys or steep cliffs we may have to face alone, we can always break new trail knowing that God has our back. Thus, we are never truly alone. It is only a matter of shifting perspective to embrace that concept you  shared so well.

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