Levi Lusko Shares Lessons Gained in Grief
Brokenness is something we’d rather avoid, yet it’s a reality we all face. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one or a season of deep disappointment, brokenness finds us. But what if, in the midst of our pain, God is working? Recently I sat down with my friend Levi Lusko—a pastor, author, and someone who knows firsthand the journey through deep grief and loss. It was an honest and raw, yet hopeful, conversation.
God Has a Plan Within the Pain
Levi opened up about the devastating loss of his young daughter, Lenya, just days before Christmas. In the midst of unimaginable pain, his family chose to donate Lenya’s corneas, giving sight to two people who had been blind. That’s when he thought of a metaphor comparing our eyes to Jesus’ eyes. And he saw the connection between his pain and what God wanted to do and wrote Through the Eyes of a Lion, where he draws on his journey to bring help to others.
Brokenness reminds us of what God can do.
Don’t Waste Your Suffering
Both Levi and I have walked through the valley of losing a child. It’s a club no one wants to join. But we have a choice at a time like that to become better or bitter. You can just become mad at God, or you choose to become better. You can use your pain. Success may build walls, but tragedy can build bridges.
Levi shared about his book, “ I would get letters back from people who weren’t dealing with the pain of a loss of a child. They would be dealing with chemo, or they lost a job, or they got divorced. And then I kind of realized, when you connect with people on pain, it doesn’t have to be the exact pain. It can be anything, but they get encouraged by it. ”
Advice for Navigating Grief
Levi also spoke candidly about losing his father recently, sharing what has helped him through it.
His counselor encouraged him to “differentiate the grief.” He compared it to an overwhelming pile of laundry. In the same way we separate dark colors from light colors, we separate what is and is not to be grieved. Then, our pile gets smaller. Levi said, “ Immediately sort the grief out because it feels like a monstrous pile of grief. So instead you go, what am I not grieving?… Let’s put those in a different pile… Well what are you grieving?… Grieve that. But now you’re grieving a much smaller pile.”
Levi and I talked more about his story and walk through grief on my latest episode of “The Greg Laurie Show.” He opens up about ministry, marriage, and even an eye-opening midlife crisis he went through. Listen today!
