There’s a ride we all take from time-to-time in life – Grief! It can be the scariest adventure out there. Grief is like a rollercoaster ride. Permit me to explain.
Think about it. Often the ride (both grief and rollercoaster) begins with a line. You want to hop on and get going, but we’re forced to wait. Sometimes the line moves quickly; often things happen slower than we want and so we wait and wait. The time of waiting is beyond our control.
Once we navigate through the zigzag of chores, hospital visits, or doctor appointments, we arrive. We climb on and we are strapped into our seats on the ride called Grief!
Belted down, our minds race wondering what lies ahead. We talk to ourselves, giving a pep talk to our fearful spirits, saying, “We can do this.” Or “be brave for others.”
The particular ride called Grief varies. Sometimes we shoot out, as if we are blasting off on a rocket, with life instantaneously happening faster than we can imagine making it difficult to breathe. Zooooom! Sometimes the ride chugs along slowly at first, and we naively think, “I got this!” We climb higher and higher, until we reach the apex then suddenly, like a lightning bolt, we speed down the hill. In any and all cases we are turned upside down, the floor beneath us seems to disappear, and/or we feel like throwing up our guts! And just when we think the ride is over, another wave, another twist, another turn jolts us, reminding us that the ride isn’t over.
Today (Thursday, December 21) at 3 pm in the sanctuary of The Palms, we are gathering for our Longest Night/Blue Christmas worship service. Rev. David Klingensmith, retired UCC Chaplain, will be leading us. All are invited to gather. We honor the journey on the ride Grief.
This holiday season can be particularly difficult for those of us on the ride of grief. I do want you to notice one thing: We do not ride alone—we journey together as The Church of the Palms. Thanks be to God.
Shalom, Paul