Recently I was thinking about the verse, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 NIV. For those of us who have a loved one who ran ahead to heaven, we know what it’s like to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. We can all agree it is the darkest valley we’ve ever been in. Still, the following words in this verse refer to protection and comfort. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that even when we find ourselves in the darkest valley, God is still walking alongside us, carrying us through the darkness… even in the broken parts, hope is never gone.
Death and grief can grab you like nothing else in life does. It changes the innermost parts of our being, where we might question everything around us – everything we thought to be true. Sometimes trusting God, especially during the most challenging times, is not only the hardest thing to do but the most essential.
As we continue to walk what sometimes feels like a desert road, by giving the journey to God, it’s there that we become stronger with each unknown step. Placing the broken parts of our hearts into the hands of the one who made them helps make all things new. It’s in the broken parts where we see that hope is never gone. Our weakness is made strong by Him.
Somehow He takes all that has been broken and shifts it into something for His good. Who else can take the broken pieces that have been shattered into shards of glass and make them into a thing of beauty? Only God. He is in my story, and He’s in yours, too. The words to the song, God is in This Story, sum it up nicely.
God is in this story
God is in the details
Even in the broken parts
He holds my heart, He never fails
When I’m at my weakest
I will trust in Jesus
Always in the highs and lows
The One who goes before me
God is in this story
He’s the healer of all things…
He’s the One who holds your sorrow
He won’t leave you here alone
When my son died, I died. I still have my faith but I also have a giant hole in my chest. My whole family is gone. There’s no reason for me to stay here, but I won’t hurt myself. But I do pray to God several times a day that I never get old. Two much time ahead of me.
I’m deeply sorry for the loss of your son. Child loss is so hard but there is hope during loss. There is a reason we are still here – God isn’t finished with you yet. Hold on and don’t give up.
Thank you. But my father died from COVID in 2020, two years before Andy, and my Mom died in January. I essentially have no biological family left, save for a few cousins that I never see and talk to on the phone every 3 months or so. The only person I do have is my wife, who I love deeply and am very thankful for. The problem there is that I live in true terror that she’ll die and then I’ll truly be alone. I feel like Job with none of his strength.