At some point in our lives we all lose someone we love. We lose someone who means the world to us and the grief we feel is unmatched. Vicki Harrison said, “Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” I am still learning to swim.

It was two years ago, on September 8^th, 2014, that I first experienced the paralyzing grief that accompanies a loss of this magnitude. I lost someone who was my mentor, confidant, friend, teacher and “adoptive grandma.” She played a huge role in my life despite the fact that I only knew her for roughly 2 years before she went home to be with the Lord. The experiences that surrounded her passing are some that I will never forget. They are also some that have shaped who I am today and who I’m yet to become as life proceeds onward.

That loss is not the only type of loss I’ve experienced and I know that it’s just the first of many that are of that specific magnitude. That thought is not comforting, but it is fact and I know that God will use each one to mold me and grow me just as He has with the first. So, it’s something that I —that we all— must live with in the midst of this cruel world. I don’t know how anyone could navigate these waters without the sure navigation of Christ. I know I couldn’t; I’ve tried.

Even now, I feel the effects of the loss and it seems as if I’m drowning, but it’s in those instances that I must grab the only life preserve with the power to resuscitate; Christ. He will teach me how to swim in the waters as the waves crash and the winds howl, and He can teach you as well. Just like the hymn says, “…When sorrows like sea billows roll/ Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say/It is well, it is well, with my soul.” Let Him teach you to say “It is well” when you find yourself being dragged under the salty waves of grief and despair.

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” I am still learning to swim, but at least, through Him, I am able to tread water with the assurance of preservation.