You “remember” your affliction and how bitter it is when your child has died. Your soul is probably “downcast.” Have you done the next thing? Jeremiah says he deliberate did the mental work to remember, “call to mind,” the Lord’s every day doses of compassion.

Grief is immense, intense and durable. God is more immense.God’s love for you is every bit as intense, immense and durable as your grief.

Quoting Nancy Guthrie’s Hearing Jesus Speak into Your Sorrow: “Emptiness can be good when, in our emptiness, we come to Jesus to be filled... When we do, we have the opportunity to find out for ourselves that Jesus really can fill us up – that he can be enough for us... We can be confident that his grace will be delivered to us in the form and quantity and timing in which we need it."

I just want to comment that how your child died has some impact on how you grieve. Even when you expect death, it is surprising when it finally does come. Paul says that he’s been in difficult circumstances of many kinds. He’s learned to be content in all circumstances. That contentment comes directly from the grace of Jesus

Grief is a journey through stages. You’ve probably seen or heard of “stages” of grief... I don’t particularly like this language to describe grief. Grief is not linear or compartmentalized as the word stage implies.

It got me to thinking about independence and grief. I realized that there is only a very little bit of the work you have to do as a grieving parent that you can do independently.

...grief sometimes generates some LARGE energy. Sometimes grief makes a person tired, but sometimes it generated energy that had better be spent on something constructive. My friend knew it was time for a new flower bed! Urgently.

We are living in a fallen world. In that world, we can be described as: pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. It’s possible that this describes your life right now.

The quilt is not large. There are pieces, in irregular shapes, of several different fabrics that have a variety of textures. The irregularity is what makes it a “crazy” quilt.