Piloting Faith: How shall we grieve?

A Word for the Day...

Yesterday I woke up and knew this was it. The grief was hitting, and I needed a break. I couldn't bear another relentless day. I couldn't handle the Zoom calls, the emails, the news stories, the disorientation, the rage, the "non-anxious presence" when I really want to scream "You guys, we are in really big trouble!!!" I knew when I opened my eyes yesterday morning that I simply couldn't do it. My heart was shattered. My mind was tired. My soul was sad. I needed to grieve.

Grief seems to be hitting many of us in random moments and surprising ways. I feel it most as shortness of breath. Over 106,151 people have died - suffocated - from COVID-19. George Floyd was murdered, crying out "I can't breathe." To be dying of a lack of air is a powerful symbol. You can't breathe when the world is on fire. You can’t breathe when you are screaming with anger, frustration, and fear. You can’t breathe when you are sobbing or terrified.

It's been weeks of change, death, trauma, vulnerability, loss, fear, threat and now protests. We have pushed through from crisis to crisis, hoping that it would end. An end is not coming soon. For many, our grief has been deferred, delayed, dismissed and diminished.

What shall we do with this torrent of pain pushing its way through us? How shall we honor the grief so that we can stay in the fight? Delayed grief often becomes misplaced grief. We can't afford that now.

I am heartened by the vigil last night in so many cities across the nation in remembrance of George Floyd. I am heartened by the peaceful protests across the world that give us space to remember our common humanity. They are needed reminders that we will make it through this together.

But what of you, in the moments of quiet, when you think of all the ways your world has changed? Where does it hurt? Don't forget that part of you too. I'm reminded of a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth, “Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.”

Be kind to yourself. These are difficult days.

We are in this together,

Rev. Cameron Trimble
Author of 60 Days of Faith: A Devotional

Prayer for the Week

May God bless you with discomfort,
At easy answers, half-truths,
And superficial relationships
So that you may live
Deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that you may work for
Justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears,
To shed for those who suffer pain,
Rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand
To comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy

And may God bless you
With enough foolishness
To believe that you can
Make a difference in the world,
So that you can do
What others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness
To all our children and the poor.

Amen.

- A Franciscan Blessing