A Glimpse of Gratitude — grateful, yet grieving
When we are in the depths of our grief it’s hard to imagine anything good coming from our loss. Author David Brooks, says, “Suffering teaches us gratitude.” I have to agree. As I’ve distanced myself from the sudden loss of my husband, I’ve discovered a sense of gratitude that goes deeper and wider than ever before in my life.
From the smallest things, like sitting in my backyard watching the birds and butterflies fly around, a grace settles around me. A glimpse of gratitude emerges.
Beyond the smallest things, I’m grateful for people who have walked with me through my journey. The endless prayers, acts of kindness through a note or text and the outpouring of love for my children and myself, I can receive all with gratitude.
In a study at Harvard Medical School in 2011, the research revealed the benefits of gratitude on individuals. Gratitude improves your health, helps your brain build better connections, and offers help during adversity. Long before the research reflected the good outcomes of being grateful, the Bible gives evidence of this truth.
In Psalm 28, David poured out his pain and cried to the Lord. He begins in verse 1, “Lord, I call to you, my rock, do not be deaf to me. If you remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the Pit.” He goes on to lament and express his need in the next six verses and ends with verse 7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped. Therefore, my heart celebrates and I give thanks to him with my song.” Within his cries, he expressed thankfulness and gratitude in the midst of his desperation. He doesn’t ignore his pain, but cries out to God. In doing so, he finds hope and gratitude for who God is to him and how he is helped by God.
Being grateful when we are grieving seems counterintuitive at first glance. Like flowers growing out of the rocks, gratitude can begin to fill in the empty space created out of our loss.
