He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Revelation 21:4

Albert György created a statue to portray his intense grief after the death of his wife. The statue, called Melancholy, is located in Geneva, Switzerland. If you haven’t seen it, look it up. It’s been said the statue’s bowed head, huge hole in the torso, and missing pieces of flesh and muscle express as nothing else the feeling of deep, consuming grief. 

Do you have a hole in your heart because of the death of a loved one? Has the death of an expectation left you feeling empty?

Personal grief has taught me that loss leaves more than a hole in one’s heart. It leaves a hole in daily routines, a hole in relationships, a hole in holidays… 

My daughter and son-in-law walked through seven miscarriages. Wave after wave of grief hit them and the rest of our family. Her fifth pregnancy lasted longer than the previous ones, and so the loss of that baby was particularly devastating. 

I prayed for years that God would bless my daughter with a healthy pregnancy and baby. Knowing God is sovereign, I was thrown into confusion and even anger at this loss. I developed a hole in my relationship with God. Why pray, when God won’t answer? Where is God’s love? My feelings were raw; my questions were numerous. 

But my faith isn’t based upon my feelings. It’s based upon truth. So, as I continued to read and meditate upon God’s truth in scripture, and as I continued to commune with my Lord in prayer, the hole in my relationship with God was healed.

Some holes left by loss will not heal this side of heaven. However, God promises that a day is coming for those in Christ Jesus when sorrow, pain, and death will be no more. 

Until then, will you cling to the Lord and to His Word? The Lord Jesus is your greatest source of comfort!

Jan