Word for the day-"Transforming Grief"

Lamentations 2:11 - 13 (MSG) My eyes are blind with tears, my stomach in a knot. My insides have turned to jelly over my people's fate. Babies and children are fainting all over the place, 12) Calling to their mothers, "I'm hungry! I'm thirsty!" then fainting like dying soldiers in the streets, breathing their last in their mothers' laps. 13) How can I understand your plight, dear Jerusalem? What can I say to give you comfort, dear Zion? Who can put you together again? This bust-up is past understanding.Sisters and Brothers today’s words confronts the pain we often encounter in this life. "Transforming Grief" is the process that helps you release your pain and losses to God. In your time of grief, you can come to terms with your past and you can find freedom to live in the reality of the present. On the other side of grief, you'll find hope for the future. So if you decide to harden your heart and refuse to grieve, you're likely to put on hold your process of healing both emotionally and spiritually.The prophet Jeremiah shared his grief and tears with God. Jeremiah lived with God's people and pleaded with them to return to God. But his pleas fell on deaf ears, and his heart was broken. So in his grief, the prophet wrote the words of the Old Testament book, Lamentations. Upon reading it, you'll find that Jeremiah didn't soften his words or hide his pain while talking to God. He weeps openly and fully, releasing his pain and emotions to God. It's a "transforming" experience for us when we grieve our own losses in life to God.Lamentations doesn't provide easy answers for the suffering you'll experience. However, you'll discover that it's all right to be real, to be angry, to be disappointed with life, and to be concerned about what tomorrow holds for you. God accepted Jeremiah being angry, tired, and discouraged, and he will accept you as well. Just as God honored the tears of Jeremiah, he'll honor yours if you share your pain and sorrow with him. It's likely to be the necessary steps towards healing for the present and hope for the future.Elder Baker