Collections & Conversations
a mid-week collection on grief and loss
I have a love/hate relationship with March.
Yesterday I spotted the first signs of perennials in my garden and squealed with delight. The ground in my flower bed looks dead, but at the same time there are tiny purple stalks pushing through to reach the sun, gently reminding me of the work I put in a few years ago to make them grow. Every year they keep coming back.
Eight years ago this same month my sister died suddenly and tragically. That year I was literally walking in the shadow of death, and yet the trees in my backyard were blooming with new life. I found myself cursing March in all her glory, but also clamoring for a bit of that sun to do in me whatever it was doing in that tree.
Every year they keep coming back. The flowers in my garden and the anniversary that split my life into before and after. I write these words keenly aware that you likely have your own “March.” Infertility, death of a dream, loss of relationship, physical brokenness—these are just some of the things that come to mind from the stories of people I love and call friends.
This week, I’m sharing stories of grief and loss from some of the most compelling, intelligent, and wise women I’ve had the privilege to interview. If grief is fresh for you or you’re facing the anniversary of loss, I pray the hope these women share will resonate with you in a way that breathes life into your weary bones. Would you listen with an ear for transformation? What new life has formed in you in spite of what’s died?
Every year they keep coming back—new losses and the anniversaries of the old ones. But what never left us, what held us together when the ground dried up and the sun refused to shine, was Christ in the thick of it with us. He has been there all along honoring our losses and simultaneously redeeming them. This is the hope you’ll find in these episodes. Pick one and see what their story does for you.
All Who Are Weary with Sarah J. Hauser
Holy Unhappiness with Amanda Held Opelt
The Intersection of Grief, Hope, & Work with Dr. Ryan Huey
Also, go check your flower beds!
Emily