A manuscript in progress.
Chapter 1: The Gift No One's Looking Forward To
Anxiously I surveyed the gifts under the tree, examining them closer I read the little cards to see who they were to. Then I would carefully measure those that would be mine against my wish list ....... what were the gifts big enough to contain? did the shape of this gift indicate? and on and on it would go, my expectations measured against what I saw, was I naive. For some of the most valuable gifts came in the most unexpected shapes, and of course there was that perennial gift wrapped inside a number of diminishing box sizes. Despite my parents best attempts, I often forgot about the giver, or sensed that the giver didn't really know me very well when my gift was something not on my wish list, you know something practical.
One of God's best gifts to us in the struggles and sufferings of life is grief. Going through the process of grief teaches us about one of the ways that his love walks with us through, what C.S. Lewis called the 'shadowlands,' or what the Psalmist called the 'valley of the shadow of death.'
Yet so often we fail to appreciate this gift, and failing to appreciate it we never unwrap its usefulness, its value to us. God not only gives us this gift but he shows us how to unwrap it through personal examples; his grieving as his son is scorned and rejected by mankind, his grieving as his son is beaten, tortured and crucified, his grieving as his son dies on a cross, alone.
Yet even before the shadows invade the heavenly domain, in John 11:21 Jesus accepts the gift of grieving. Theologians will try to explain away the verse by saying that Jesus was crying over sin leading to death, and they certainly have a point, but let us not forget Jesus was also human. It was a deep wound in his heart that his best friend had died, even though he himself had been a begrudging spectator. His crying began to unwrap that gift, and in the process gives us permission to accept the gift of grieving with a sad heart. His unwrapping the gift reveals to us that grieving allows us to give expression to our sorrow, grieving points us to the only source of compassion, strength and eventually peace. On the other hand it is interesting to note that scripture says virtually nothing about the grieving process that Job goes through. The man has just lost ten children, children he made sacrifices for daily, and there is no picture of his grieving. Its absence reminds me that we can choose to accept the gift and the often long difficult journey involved, or we can refuse it and never bring closure and a new beginning from our loss.
[so much for this rough sketch, I look forward to your input on this first chapter]
Chapter 1: The Gift No One's Looking Forward To
Anxiously I surveyed the gifts under the tree, examining them closer I read the little cards to see who they were to. Then I would carefully measure those that would be mine against my wish list ....... what were the gifts big enough to contain? did the shape of this gift indicate? and on and on it would go, my expectations measured against what I saw, was I naive. For some of the most valuable gifts came in the most unexpected shapes, and of course there was that perennial gift wrapped inside a number of diminishing box sizes. Despite my parents best attempts, I often forgot about the giver, or sensed that the giver didn't really know me very well when my gift was something not on my wish list, you know something practical.
One of God's best gifts to us in the struggles and sufferings of life is grief. Going through the process of grief teaches us about one of the ways that his love walks with us through, what C.S. Lewis called the 'shadowlands,' or what the Psalmist called the 'valley of the shadow of death.'
Yet so often we fail to appreciate this gift, and failing to appreciate it we never unwrap its usefulness, its value to us. God not only gives us this gift but he shows us how to unwrap it through personal examples; his grieving as his son is scorned and rejected by mankind, his grieving as his son is beaten, tortured and crucified, his grieving as his son dies on a cross, alone.
Yet even before the shadows invade the heavenly domain, in John 11:21 Jesus accepts the gift of grieving. Theologians will try to explain away the verse by saying that Jesus was crying over sin leading to death, and they certainly have a point, but let us not forget Jesus was also human. It was a deep wound in his heart that his best friend had died, even though he himself had been a begrudging spectator. His crying began to unwrap that gift, and in the process gives us permission to accept the gift of grieving with a sad heart. His unwrapping the gift reveals to us that grieving allows us to give expression to our sorrow, grieving points us to the only source of compassion, strength and eventually peace. On the other hand it is interesting to note that scripture says virtually nothing about the grieving process that Job goes through. The man has just lost ten children, children he made sacrifices for daily, and there is no picture of his grieving. Its absence reminds me that we can choose to accept the gift and the often long difficult journey involved, or we can refuse it and never bring closure and a new beginning from our loss.
[so much for this rough sketch, I look forward to your input on this first chapter]
I'm reminded of the injunction to "rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice." I'm afraid that injunction tends to be honored more often in the breach.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to more chapters.
Cheers.
Sherm.....
ReplyDeleteI stand guilty on that account also; but I'm getting better. thanks
I like your comments on Job, a book that I interpret as a classical comedy (the reversal of fortune at the end, as if getting new children and cows can replace the grief of your past).
ReplyDeleteAs for the story, I'd expand the 'mystery' of the Christmas morning--building suspense,
Sage
ReplyDeleteYou've lost me brother on the 'mystery' of the Christmas morning- building suspense, please explain a little further, I don't know if I'm simply having a senior moment or really am lost, but I'm really looking forward to it.
thanks.
I prefer to think of grief as a process that we must endure in order to receive a gift. In my way of thinking, grief is more analogous to the anticipation of opening the gift at Christmas, rather than the actual gift.
ReplyDeleteAt Christmastime, the anticipation of receiving a gift can be nearly unbearable for a child. A child can even turn bitter because of the anticipation because they have become impatient with the process. Do you see where I am heading? Grief, it seems to me, is a process of spiritual formation, not an end in itself. The process of grieving is not the gift, it is a process we go through to receive a gift that God has for us: the formation of our spirit into what it could not have otherwise been before we endured the grief.
In a sense, you are correct in that grief itself is a gift, because a process can be a gift. For instance I can enjoy a positive experience as a gift because I can enjoy a tropical cruise. (Wouldn’t I just love that as a gift!) But is the cruise (process) the actual gift or is it the reformation of my spirit into relaxation and revitalization that is the true gift in that case?
Just some nuggets for your noggin’…
Bro.Don
ReplyDeleteYes, I see where you're coming, and better articulation on my part would saved you time. I look at the gift of grief as a 'gift in process' .. a gift, to borrow from an advertisement, that 'goes on giving.' I really like how you've applied the spiritual formation concept to it; guess I missed that one in class. [along with others] Keep the thoughts coming .... I smell a Pulitzer Prize for all of us!
Sage
ReplyDeleteI really like your 'classical' comments on Job. I'm going to take some time and try to expand on those. thanks