DON’T DENY YOUR GRIEF

Many opt to flee grief.  Captain Woodrow Call urged young Newt to do so.  In the movie “Lonesome Dove”, Call and Newt are part of an 1880s Texas-to-Montana cattle drive.  When a swimming swarm of water moccasins end the life of Newt’s best friend, Call offers bereavement counsel, western style.  At the burial, in the shade of elms and the presence of cowboys, he advises, “Walk away from it, son.  That’s the only way to handle death.  Walk away from it.”

What else can you do?  The grave stirs such unspeakable hurt and unanswerable questions.  We’re tempted to turn and walk.  Change the subject, avoid the issue.  Work hard.  Drink harder.  Stay busy.  Stay distant.  Head north to Montana and don’t look back.

Yet we pay a high price when we do…

"David sang this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, and gave orders that everyone in Judah learn it by heart." (II Samuel 1:17-18 MSG)

David called the nation to mourning. He rendered weeping a public policy. He refused to gloss over or soft-pedal death. He faced it, fought it, challenged it. But he didn't deny it. As his son Solomon explained, "There is…a time to mourn" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NIV).

Give yourself some time.

-- Max Lucado in “Facing Your Giants”

#4673