On weekdays during Advent we are posting the daily reflection from our Abundance Advent booklet here on our blog. You can download the booklet in its entirety here.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Matthew 5:4
As I think about how I’ve experienced abundance this year I can’t help but also think about mourning. It may be partially because it was so recent, or maybe because of how shocking it was, but it’s also because I experienced abundance in a unique way this year while in the midst of grief.
I entered work like any other day on October 14th, but it quickly became clear that it would not be an ordinary day. About an hour into my day a coworker pulled a couple of us aside to inform us that a friend who had worked closely with us for several years had her life taken the previous night. In the midst of our shock we wished we could just go home for the day, but that wasn’t an option. We struggled through the day stopping often to talk about our good memories of our friend and our shock that she was gone. We knew that this was not a loss we would be able to get over easily.
As we continue to process our loss over a month later we still don’t have answers. We haven’t found the right way to articulate what we are thinking or feeling. Many of us continue to feel like we are lying even responding that we are ok when asked how we are doing. What I have found though, from the moment I received the news, is an abundance of family. I have been surrounded by people from my family at City Church, my family at work, and my biological family who have checked in with me often and reminded me that they are praying for me. I have seen people go out of their way to invite me to spend time with them to give me a break from thinking about my sadness and grief. My family has been willing to sit and listen when I wanted to talk about my friend and how I am processing my grief, but they have also been willing to help me distract myself when I need a break from talking. Throughout the past month I have had countless reminders that I am well loved by people who won’t shy away or disappear when difficult times arise.
When I think of the word abundance I also think of fullness of life, which I think is well portrayed in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Solomon says in verse 1, “For everything there is a season,” and goes on to give several examples of things we face in life. As I’ve gone through the past year I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to experience many of these, including a time for mourning and a time for weeping. I don’t mean to say that I’m thankful for what happened, but I am thankful that God has used a tragic and terrible situation to remind me of how loved I am both by Him and by the people with whom he has surrounded me. I am thankful that in the midst of my mourning I can cling to a promise from my savior that I will find comfort. Most of all I am thankful for my family and my savior who have brought me that comfort even when I didn’t have the energy to seek it.