That sounds very hard, Kim. 🙁 I agree that some changes are harder than others. I’m going through a difficult change in my life at the moment as well; I don’t know how long it will last, but hopefully not forever. I’m grieving my losses and trying to accept what the Lord has in store next. Blessings to you, friend, as you deal with your changes.

We can wield our swords together against those unwanted thoughts, Lisa!

You’re speaking to me, Nancy: I can sink pretty quickly into self-pity and a long trail of what-ifs. 😉 I’m thankful for people in my life who help me not sit there for too long at a time. But I still have to be the one to make the decision to get up and “take those thoughts captive.” I find myself drifting back and forth to the spot. God is showing me a new path forward; it’s just not the one I had planned on taking. Trusting his ways we better than my own….

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sit down in person and talk, Lois! I know we could sit for hours and discuss this topic and so many more. You have phrased my feeling perfectly: intense disappointment. I’ve seen God moving through it already in a week’s time, but the initial loss remains constant. I’m just more able now to notice the flowers he’s planted along the way for me as I walk back and forth to the tomb. He hasn’t left me without hope. But even with that, I want to hold on to him more than I’m holding on to the hope. I still have so much to learn. Thanks for your virtual hugs!

Thank you for your wise encouragement, Donna. I appreciate your words. I’m thankful for godly women like you who have the strength, faith, and gifts to “wander among the tombs” as a tour guide of sorts for the rest of us. Keep up your good work, friend! I pray that the Lord blesses you with your own comfort as you help guide others to comfort.

“Hold things lightly” is a wonderful mantra that I need to remember too, Jean, especially in this season. As I work on replacing my recent loss with something different, I need to hold the new dream looser instead of gripping it just as tightly. I want to live and learn, but it’s hard to break our old patterns. Thank God for his grace and patience as we go!

Thanks, Lisa. I suppose losses don’t come easy to anyone, at any age or stage of life. As I get older, they still hurt just as much; I just want to run quicker to God’s mercy in the pain (even with my arthritic joints, ha).

I know you have experienced major losses along your journey, Tammy. I appreciate that you share about those periodically on your blog; I learn from you. I had a tight grip on the current dream that I’m now grieving. I want to learn to hold the replacement dream more loosely, yet still experience the joy that comes from dreaming. It’s sometimes a tricky thing to do.

I’m sorry you’re experiencing those small deaths with your mother as she ages, Donna. I did the same with my mother. It was painful. An older friend told me at the time that as her own mother slipped into dementia, she felt that her mother had died and was being replaced with this new woman, but that she learned to love the new woman too. It brought me comfort to think of it that way. Praying for you as you watch your mother decline. I know if we live long enough, we will all decline as well. I pray others will be patient with me when it’s my turn.