Good Grief!!

For years I have struggled with the process of grieving. Loss came early in my life. My father died when I was just seven years old. More loss would follow, rapidly. My way of coping has ALWAYS been to "buck up," to "grin and bear it." It seemed that if I truly trusted God, I should never give in to grief, to feel the sting of loss, to crumple under the weight of sorrow. Yet burying my grief only meant it would consume me in a silent, unhealthy way. However, I am learning that even grief can bring God great glory. My most recent loss has been handled differently. I have allowed myself to hurt, I have rushed to God and to His people for comfort rather than stoically bearing up under my grief. As I woke this morning, I realized that this time I did it right -- I became weak! Below is a poem that I wrote this morning as I contemplated the process of grieving:

GOOD GRIEF!!

When grief consumes my heart and soul, when sorrow grows beyond control,
When clouds crowd out the light of day, it seems my faith is far away.
For surely I should never grieve -- why, joy is mine if I believe!
If God Himself is in control, why should sadness grip my soul?


And yet before He took His cross, the Son of God dealt with His loss
His grief was great; the angst and fears caused my Lord to shed great tears.
He did not bravely raise His chin, ignoring pain that gripped within.
He did not do it all alone. Instead He stormed His Father's throne.


He shook with fear to play His part, but still He sought His Father's heart,
And when at last his grief was done, His Father's will and His, now one,
With courage He could face His cross. His life He offered up as loss;
To gain what I can't comprehend -- the privilege to call me friend!


Who am I to bury pain, to loathe my grief with great disdain?
Oh no, to do so would be wrong! It's when I'm weak that He is strong.
It's when I've nothing left to give, through Jesus I can learn to live.
No, being weak is not a sin, that's just the time when God moves in.

The Legend of the Three Trees

One of my boys asked the other day, "What do trees have to do with Christmas?" It reminded me of a story that a college professor read to my class, called The Legend of the Three Trees. Here it is:

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!" The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world."

Years passed and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" the first tree said. The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty ship was made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river. Instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..."

Many, many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him," her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and the sturdy wood. "This manger is beautiful," she said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the King of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.

That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

We may not understand the design we've been given, but we CAN trust the Designer.