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“Loss visits all of us. None of us gets to opt out.”

A thought by Maria Goff (2017-03-07) from her book, Love Lives Here: Finding  What You Need in a World Telling You What You Want (Kindle Location 451). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is true, isn’t it?  We would love to do all we can to keep it from happening but we can’t, can we?

Maria says, “Rather than praying that I never experience loss again, my prayer has been that God would show me what’s possible on the other side of the loss. While we’re waiting to find out what God might have for us, we might be sad for a while but we’re not going to be stuck. We’re going to move forward. Love keeps us going and hope moves our feet.”

She goes on, “I’m not much of a basketball player, but if I was, I wouldn’t let the fact that I had missed a shot keep me from taking the next one. Don’t let the fear about what you’ve lost keep you from risking and reaching in your life. Here’s the question I think God asks all of us at some point: What’s your next step? None of us know what God might do next, but we get to decide what we’ll do next. Get back in the arena. Press into the pain. Find new building materials and get back to your life.”

She finishes this chapter by saying, “The fire might have taken the structure and all of our belongings and precious treasures. Even so, God didn’t burn our Lodge down to show us His power. He didn’t need to. He had already wowed us with our family and friends a long time ago. What I think God does is to allow each of us to go through difficult times to show us His presence through it. It’s as if He reminds each of us in our most difficult circumstances that the most beautiful waterfalls only happen in the steepest places in our lives. Every time I would look at the gaping hole where the Lodge once stood, I reminded myself that love still lives here. Because love doesn’t need a building, and it never has— it just needs us.”


So, what has God shown you are your possibilities after your loss?
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