Having a relationship with Jesus isn’t easy. It comes with a big sign that reads, “Get ready for rejection!” Jesus clearly told His disciples in Luke 10:16, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

This is why living in community is so important. We all suffer, but we endure together. We ourselves are comforted, thus we can be a comfort to others. God gives us strength, and therefore, we can hold others up in His strength as well. We are weak in ourselves, but we have the Holy Spirit’s power residing in us to empower us to do beyond what we are able.

Grief is a strange and uncomfortable thing to go through, no matter how familiar it may be. I liken it to a boat in a storm. No matter how seasoned a sailor you are, there’s always a big wave that can rock the boat. We never expect it. No one can. When it hits, it’s all consuming.