It’s raining here again today, the long term weather forecast predicts that La Niña will give us another wet Spring & Summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

I read somewhere that the term La Niña, which means ‘little girl’ in Spanish, was named for these prolonged wet weather periods because little girls cry.

I’m not sure if this is a myth or true but I found it an interesting tidbit none the less.

But let’s grab our cuppa’s & get comfy before we continue.

I’m having a mug of Caramel coffee today with a slice of gf Date, coconut & almond loaf that I’ve placed on the beautiful Blue & White Fine China plate that my friend Joy gave me years ago.

This Week 

I have been rather pensive as I’ve been reflecting upon the last few years.

It’s been a crazy ride, hasn’t it?

Not only have we had years of the Pandemic but just before that we had Fire storms (that came too close for comfort) & Floods (which are still plaguing the East Coast of Australia)!

On a more personal level, it’s been a pretty intense few years.

Not only in dealing with the above but also journeying through the terminal illness & deaths of dear loved One’s.

This week marked 12 months since one of those dear loved One’s went to Glory.

She was one of my oldest & dearest friend’s, her name is Joy.

I miss her…

You may like to read about our friendship that spanned four decades in the following post,

Celebrating Joy

Yes, this week has had sadness, sadness in that I can’t spend time with her here & now.

Sadness that her last months were in CoVid lockdown & we didn’t get to have time together before she passed.

Sadness that she had Motor Neurone Disease that took her independence & voice away. Although not her tenacity for life.

Joy in the sadness

Although I miss her greatly, I believe she is experiencing a happiness, peace & freedom as never before, for I too experienced this which I shared Here.

Grief is very strange indeed!

Have you noticed how strange grief can be?

For it contains many emotions all colliding with each other, we can be sad & glad, angry & relieved, distraught & happy all at one moment.

But Grief can also begat grief!

I have also been thinking about another recent death, the death of my Mother.

Who passed into Glory earlier this year on my birthday.

Mum was a very private person, so I will respect her privacy even in death & won’t go into details here.

But what I can share is that I do know that she is now experiencing that same happiness, peace & comfort with the Lord.

And as her daughter that is very comforting indeed!

What to do with sadness…

In western societies we don’t often give ourselves permission to grieve or display the emotions that surround the loss of a loved One.

So I’m here to tell you as a Clinical Counselor that;

It is okay to be sad & it’s okay to grieve!

The Gospel of John 11:30-35 tells us that Jesus Himself wept at seeing the grief & pain of His friends Mary & Martha in the loss of their brother Lazarus, before He raised him from the dead.

And for our emotional & mental well-being we really do need to go through the emotions of grief.

Although, amazingly we don’t have to do this alone!

For God has given us the following assurance that He is with us in our grief;

“Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of death, I need not fear for you Lord are with me; Your rod (of protection) and Your staff (of guidance), comfort me.”

Psalm 23: 4 paraphrased 

So let us be kind to ourselves when we feel sad & grieving.

But also let us honour our loved One’s memory by living life we have left abundantly & with tenacity for the Lord!

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Room

Or 

In Prayer

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© 2022 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog All Rights Reserved. Photo by Julia Volk on Pexels.com 

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