Sacred Ground

I’ve recently watched several friends grieving. It is no trite thing, and when you have grieved yourself, you ache when others experience it. You are taken back to your pain and you know the rush of emotions they are feeling – because you have walked on the same ground.  

Grief – over death in particular – is so, so hard. I believe it is remarkably hard because death is the total opposite of what God planned for us in the beginning. Death is the total opposite of God. He is the Author of Life and everything contrary to death. When you watch someone die – or you experience death in the womb (both of which I have experienced), you partake in an unnatural, seemingly evil, confusing, dark occurrence. And simply stated, it is the reverse of what God intended for His creation – especially man.

Sacred Ground.

I wish I could say I coined this phrase. It has utterly clinched my heart since I read it. A friend was openly grieving on Facebook, and one person replied in encouragement:  Grief is a sacred ground. The phrase took my breath away.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Jesus tells us that when we mourn, we will indeed be comforted. And we will be comforted by the Holy of Holies, the Lord God Almighty, through the rushing in of His Holy Spirit. Right onto the ground of our grief. It is a deeply hurting place, but a deeply holy place because God gives us HIS VERY PRESENCE. It is a promise. He meets us in our grief. That is the good that can come out of the bad. Those grieving will experience a deeper level of His comfort and presence than many. It’s like a hidden fountain, reserved only for those who have fallen so deeply into grief that they could find it.

Speak to anyone who has experienced deep grief, and if they love the Lord, they will most certainly tell you that the intimate comfort they received from Him was palpable. Though no one longs to go back to that grief, most everyone longs to go back to that ground. The holy, sacred, intimate, deep, tender love of the Lord is indeed a sacred ground.

On Memorial Day, this rings true for so many. May the families of the fallen know the comforting presence of the God who knows the same pain. He, too lost a loved one; His only begotten Son.

After deciding to write this post, I came across this picture in our local paper. I couldn’t help but include it.