Broken glass, broken hearts

A few days ago, I decided I wanted to bake. I saw a recipe on Pinterest that looked really good, so I thought, why not? I'm not exactly the type of person that spends a lot of time in the kitchen, so this was a little stretch, but I didn't think it would be extremely difficult. So, I gathered my ingredients and arranged them on the counter. I then realized I was missing the brown sugar. Opening the cabinet door, I spotted it sitting on the top shelf, just barely within my reach. As I reached up to grab it, my arm knocked into a full bottle of steak sauce. I tried to catch it, but it was too late. The next thing I heard was the sound of glass shattering, and I turned around to see the sauce splattered all over the floor and continuing to flow through the kitchen. For a minute, I just stood there staring in shock. This was not at ALL how I expected to begin my baking project! After a minute I grabbed a towel and started cleaning it up, all the while feeling a small sense of anger rising up inside me. I didn't understand why it had to start this way and I was irritated that I was having to deal with this when I could already be baking. But finally, I guess I just sort of accepted it. I placed a towel over what was, at that point, a puddle of water, and went on with my project. While thinking about it later, I realized that maybe there's a parallel between the grieving process and me shattering a bottle of steak sauce. The pastor of our church passed away last week completely unexpectedly. He was only 50 and left behind a wife and 3 kids. Our church has been grieving and I can't even imagine how much more devastated his family must be. So, the grieving process has been on my mind lately. It sounds silly to find a connection between grief and steak sauce, but think about it. Think about a time when something happened seemingly out of nowhere that just turned your world upside down. At first, you're in shock. You just stand there staring at the situation, maybe even unable to move. When the shock wears off, you start to feel angry. You just want to shake your fist at heaven and ask, "WHY, God? This doesn't make sense! This isn't fair!" And once you've let your anger out, you just finally accept it and start figuring out how to move on. Now, I'm no expert, but this seems to be the way it goes. And honestly, I don't see anything wrong with it. Some people say that depression is a sin and it's absolutely terrible to be angry with God, but I don't believe that at all. Depression, grief, and anger are completely NATURAL responses for us as humans, and even as Christians. We know that God is in control and that He has a plan, but we do not and cannot understand His ways. Therefore, we are going to be sad and angry when horrible things happen. The thing to remember is this: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. God says in His Word that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. There is a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to be silent and a time to speak. He also says that He has made everything beautiful in its time. Maybe you're in a time of mourning. Cry and grieve as long as you need, but remember that there is also a time to laugh and dance. If you're angry, be angry and let it out. God can handle it. Just remember that even Job did not curse God in the midst of all his suffering. When the anger fades, remember that there is a time to heal. And most of all, remember that there is a time to keep going. There comes a time when you've let all of your emotions out and you simply have to let go. You have to let God do His work and heal your broken heart in a way that only He can. I won't pretend to have all the answers or claim that I have it all together when things go wrong. But I have to believe that God sees, cares, and loves. He cries with us and gives us the strength to keep going. He is in control and has a perfect plan. He comforts us so that we can comfort others. And one day, He will wipe away all of our tears and make everything right again. Until then, we must hold onto Him and trust what we cannot see. He is our Healer, Redeemer, and our only hope.