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“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Father of mercy and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV)

This past summer, I learned a new term-Eucharisteo. It means He gives thanks and comes to us from the Greek and has as its root word-charis, meaning grace1. This goes along with my choosing the word grace as my word for 2013.I have learned things about praise and about God’s comfort from keeping a list of God’s gifts and my praises for what He does for me. Once I started keeping a list, I found it easier to recognize God’s grace to me.

We all endure pain and heartache as we go through life. It’s inevitable. We have times of sadness and grief because we are human. God allows us to have these intense times of emotion in direct correlation to how much we love.

I recently witnessed a family in the grief process attend church the day after they had lost their husband-father-grandfather-great-grandfather. Yes, they were hurting but they chose to be in God’s house to worship God. Another woman had lost her father about a week earlier. Inside a congregation of about 300, there were two families who were in the beginning of the grief process. I saw Jesus on that recent Sunday as I watched different people speaking to and comforting the lady who had lost her husband and her daughter and her grandchildren and the other family who lost a father and grandfather.

I know being in the Lord’s house brought comfort to both families. I saw the same example set year and a half ago. This family was in Sunday worship the next day after they buried their only son-brother; they had been through the process of grief several years earlier when they lost a daughter-sister.

In both instances, I believe the families knew where they could go to receive comfort. They came to God’s house and to His people.

I remember when I was in the place of grief when I lost my dad, and earlier, my stepmother. In both instances, I could feel the prayers of God’s people as I walked through the days between the loss and the committal service and afterward. I was more open about my grief at the loss of my stepmother. But, the kindnesses shown to me on both occasions were very special.

Dear Father God:

Please wrap your arms of love around those families who mourn the loss of a loved one. Draw them close to you. Whisper words of comfort into their ears. Allow them to rest in your arms as they go through the coming days as they learn to walk through their lives without that person who meant so much to them. In the name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN

1. Conversation with Ann Voskamp part 1;http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/eucharisteo-conversation-ann-voskamp-%E2%80%93-part-1#.UoT2pfksklI

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

God Inhabits The Ordinary