Grief

She may be your neighbor. Your friend. Your daughter. Your co-worker. Or maybe she’s the woman waiting behind you at the grocery store. Or sitting next to you in church. Maybe she’s you.

She is among the 1 in 3 women, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, who are or have been a victim of domestic violence. The statistics are startling. One in three. Someone you love, someone you care about, someone you know likely fits into those numbers.

To everything there is a season. Right? That’s Bible truth, right there, though I admit I seldom read Ecclesiastes beyond chapter three. Sometimes I need the reminder that there is a time to be born and a time to die…a time to weep and a time to laugh…a time to be silent and a time to speak…

How often have you written or spoken those words to someone grieving, battling an illness, or struggling with a challenge? If you’re like I am, we have spoken them many times—and sincerely meant them. You thought of your friend or family member. You prayed for them. Both are important. Necessary. Helpful. Prayer proves powerful and effective, and telling others you are thinking of them brings comfort.

On a bright Sunday morning, Nicole, our normally active, happy, three-year-old, awoke unable to walk. It also hurt her to be touched.

I was already sheltered in the basement of our home seeking protection from the approaching tornado when the National Weather Service text alert blasted on my cell phone.