Twenty-three years ago this past summer we had a significant fire in our home. An entire room was destroyed, while smoke created quite a bit of damage throughout the rest of the house. Our youngest daughter was a baby at the time and very easily could have been hurt or killed as the fire began in her room. Filling out insurance papers, and making restoration plans was a chore, but we were very aware that we had much for which to be grateful.
One of the most marked pieces I remember from that time was the odd sensation of the rest of the world moving forward while time seemed to be standing still in the middle of our mini-disaster. I wanted to stop people walking by me and exclaim, “Don’t you know what has just happened to us? How can you be going about your normal business?” Quite possibly you have had that same sensation as you have dealt with a death or loss.
We don’t like the feeling that no one comprehends or is even paying attention to our grief. On the other hand, at those times we often find it difficult to put words to our grief. It is at those points that “the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress.” Romans 8:26 goes on to say: “For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying…”
It is remarkable that the people we see with our eyes right around us don’t always understand what is truly going on inside of us. But, He who can’t be seen understands it all! Not only does He understand everything, but His Word goes on in Romans 8 to confirm that He “causes everything (including disasters and grief) to work together for the good of those who love God.” So, while the rest of the world does keep moving as our world has toppled, there is comfort found in the fact that God is working and causing His purposes to be accomplished.
