How Lent Helps Us Handle Loss

1-Out Chapel w snow LENT

Today’s post was written by Concordia Chaplain Rev. Daniel Strussenberg, who serves at Concordia of the South Hills, Concordia of Monroeville and Harmony Physical Rehabilitation. Concordia’s Chaplaincy Department actively contributes to our residents’ well being, especially during the Lenten Season. Feel free to comment and share!

How do you handle yourself when people leave you?

As we experience Lent, we are reminded of the One who loved the world so much that He came and died for the sins of the whole world.  We are reminded of Jesus and how He left his disciples on Good Friday.

Jesus lived and loved and died and rose and ascended to heaven, and sent His Spirit to assist us on our way of living and dying (and leaving) and living eternally.  In the process of Jesus’ loving, He created relationships.

We, who have lost relationships also through the years, can understand the confusion that Jesus’ disciples had when they saw him die.  A part of “their heart” was missing, and it took some dynamic proof for them to leave behind the “vale of tears and grief.” Once the disciples were witnesses to the resurrected Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit, their daunting task of bringing others to Jesus did not end until their own death.

When you lose someone (it could be the loss of a friend, loss of someone in death, loss of someone in fellowship, loss of a loved one, loss of someone or something that you are used to having around), there is grief.  Grief has its own experiences, and, somehow you just want them to hear you say, “Missing you!”

No matter how someone or something left you, it feels like they were ripped from you, and you are left to pick up the pieces.  Very likely, you have little you can do about the severance.  Love seems to have quite a hold on us.  What can we do about it?

Because of love, God created us and re-created us.  Because of the love of God we are given life in Jesus and He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us.  Because of love, we live, breathe, and have our being.  It is no wonder that a severance of love will cause us difficulty.  Is it true that the only solace we can have in our losses be love?

The greatest love is the love of God, through Jesus.  Love from God directly, and love from others who love Jesus with their whole heart, are wonderful sources for our needs.  

If you love God, remember to be a source for loving others!

Some of us find love in all the wrong places.  Addictions and other “love” experiences may lead us astray and to our own “destruction.” It is far more important to look to the Creator for the source of the love we need.

The source of true love is from God through Jesus Christ, whom we remember each Lent.  While others leave us and there is nothing we can do about it, we can find peace.  Our peace is that we have the abiding love and presence of Jesus in our life.  

In Lent we see what Jesus did for us out of love.  We can be reminded how God so loved the world, that He gave us His only Son to die and rise for us and our salvation.

It is always better to find our love in God through Jesus when someone has left us.  Yes, when someone leaves you, may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

For more information on the health and senior care services offered at Concordia, message us through the Contact form on our website or call 724-352-1571.

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