Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Bible Verse: When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to cry. The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” John 11:32-36
Reflection: When my cousin, Lindsay, was 18 she was hospitalized for pneumonia. Not many days in, she developed a blood clot and died as a result. When the doctors told my aunt and uncle, they broke down when they heard the news.
Flash forward 7 years, and my cousin Britta, 28, (Lindsay’s sister) went in for a routine heart procedure (Britta was born with a hole in her heart). The surgery did not go as expected and Britta died. When the doctors told my aunt and uncle, they wailed when they heard the news.
No parent should ever have to bury their child. My aunt and uncle have had to do that twice. Being a parent myself, I feel their pain deep in my bones.
When I was younger and would read verse 35, I would be so excited to know the trivia that this was the shortest scripture in the Bible. Having lost my cousins, I know you don’t need many words to express the grief of loss.
Today’s scripture comes when Jesus found out his friend Lazarus had passed. The writer did not need many words to express Jesus‘s reaction. It was Christ’s honest human experience of grief and loss.
I know my aunt and uncle struggled like Mary did in this passage. Yet, I envision our Heavenly Father embracing my aunt and uncle in their darkest moments.
As we enter the last days of Lent and await when we get to celebrate our risen Savior, I encourage you to pause and take a moment to sit with the losses and the grief you’ve experienced in your life. Don’t be afraid of the raw emotion you may experience and seek God’s embrace of you.
Contributor: Crystal Holic