Moving forward!
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6: 10 – 20, NKJV)
I was reminded this weekend of how hard grief is! And I was also reminded that I cannot let grief swallow me up forever! Three Dog Night remains one of my favorite groups. I saw them on my 21st birthday in concert and have since taken my son to one of their concerts! They have a lesser played song, “It Ain’t Easy” which has this phrase in the chorus:
“It ain’t easy
To go ahead when your going’ down”
(Source: <a href=”https://www.elyrics.net/read/t/three-dog-night-lyrics/it-ain_t-easy-lyrics.html”>click here</a>)
There comes a point in grief when it is time to go ahead. You know that in your head and your heart, but it ain’t easy! In fact, it is pretty hard. I honestly do not know how people do this without God. As we were walking in memory of Pat in the MDA Muscle Walk of Puget Sound this weekend, I looked around at all the people who were honoring their living loved ones who had some sort of debilitating neuromuscular disease. The walk was a promise of hope. 
The promise of hope is in fact one of the verses of the song “It Ain’t Easy:”
“Well, the people have their problems
But that ain’t nothing new
Well the hope and understanding
Can bring you on through
Well it can bring you on through
It can take you to the end”
(Source: <a href=”https://www.elyrics.net/read/t/three-dog-night-lyrics/it-ain_t-easy-lyrics.html”>click here</a>)
I saw all kinds of people with major health problems Saturday and I know that my son was having difficulty with grief and my daughter had earlier posted her hard time with grief. I will admit I was also dealing with grief, but it was not debilitating like it was 2 years ago. Why? Well, I think it all has to do with my relationship to God. He is the Healer of all things. He wants to have a relationship with you and He really does want to comfort you. Every morning I spend time alone with God – my first words are “I love you, God!” And I have learned to practice Ephesians 6 even more diligently. That earlier picture of me as a plebe at the US Naval Academy came to mind as every day I had to put on my earthly armor and I knew even then that I should be putting on my spiritual armor.
And there is also the hope found in helping others. Take the focus off of me and focus on the needs of others – God’s unbelievable comfort comes to those who comfort others.
“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 1:4, NKJV)
I have purposefully looked for opportunities to help others through the gifts God has given me. This has led me back to teaching the Bible in Bible studies and preaching. I find God has made His Word more personal to me and that I can share my struggles with others and show them God working in my life and identify with their struggles. Now, even though I do miss Pat, I have my hope in God through doing for others. The focus is off of me. I look forward to eternity when I get to see God face to face and I do long for the day when I will see Pat again! But for now, I will focus on helping others and drawing closer to my dear Lord!
LESSON LEARNED: Take my focus off of me! Look around to see who I can help with the unique gifts God has given me. Rely on His power, love and comfort to move ahead!
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2: 19, NKJV)
Widower's Walk 