Good Grief

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (ESV) I sure didn’t find anything “good” in the scalding grief I felt when I lost my husband. He was my best friend, the love of my life, the best father, the most loving grandfather and chapan (great-grandfather). He was the backbone of our family, a wonderful friend, and man of God. The person I thought would be with me until the day God called me home. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” we sing. But I didn’t feel like Jesus loved me in the months after Al went home to be with the Lord. If Jesus really did love me, why was my life full of loss? As a young girl, I experienced the loss of family security due to divorce, the loss of all five brothers, the loss of both parents, the loss of my kokum and mushum (grandparents). Every time I turned around, there was another loss. After the pain and sorrow began to fade a wee bit, I realized just how much Jesus really did love me. He loved me enough to see that I didn’t owe one penny when Al passed. He loved me enough to give me daughters and grandchildren that care about me. He gave me an adopted family that walked beside me in my grief, even though I tried to push them away a time or two as I didn’t understand they were trying to help me. God never wanted people to die — death is a result of the first sin in the Garden of Eden. God made people to worship Him, to have fellowship with Him, to do His will. I realized how much God cared because He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins. Yes, even in grief, we can find the good when we have Jesus in our lives. — June Cardinal-Howse   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org