Let it Come

On By Kim NolywaikaIn Alaska Photos by Hans, God's Purpose, Poetry, Streams in the Desert

Sorrow is better than laughter;
for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Ecclesiastes 7:3

When you are sitting there alone and you are weeping, and the longing for your child is a thick and expanding heaviness in your chest threatening to erupt from your throat in silent, choking grief.

When the missing him becomes a mountain of sadness that is looming over you and you whisper your child’s name in astonishment and it just hurts, hurts like nothing you have ever known before and you cannot get away from it…

Do not despair.

Sit and let it come. Be still and let it crash through your soul. Let it topple every idol in your heart as it passes through.

For this is the work of God. This pain is Him working in you, purifying you, conforming you to the image of His Son. He is drilling, hammering, grinding, cutting away all that comes between you and Him.

Of course it hurts

Do not run from it.

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

“Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and merry. We must go down into ‘depths’ if we would experience this most precious of God’s gifts–comfort, and thus be prepared to be co-workers together with Him. When night, needful night, gathers over the garden of our souls, when the leaves close up, and the flowers no longer hold any sunlight within their folded petals, there shall never be wanting, even in the thickest darkness, drops of heavenly dew, dew which falls only when the sun has gone.”

“I have been through the valley of weeping,
The valley of sorrow and pain;
But the ‘God of all comfort’ was with me,
At hand to uphold and sustain.

As the earth needs the clouds and sunshine,
Our souls need both sorrow and joy;
So He places us oft in the furnace,
The dross from the gold to destroy.

When he leads thro’ some valley of trouble
His omnipotent hand we trace;
For the trials and sorrows He sends us,
Are part of His lessons in grace.

Oft we shrink from the purging and pruning,
Forgetting the Husbandman knows
That the deeper the cutting and paring,
The richer the cluster that grows.

Well He knows that affliction is needed;
He has a wise purpose in view,
And in the dark valley He whispers,
‘Hereafter Thou’lt know what I do.’

As we travel thro’ life’s shadow’d valley,
Fresh springs of His love ever rise;
And we learn that our sorrows and losses,
Are blessings just sent in disguise.

So we’ll follow wherever He leadeth,
Let the path be dreary or bright;
For we’ve proved that our God can give comfort;
Our God can give songs in the night.”

Comfort in the Depths – Streams in the Desert 8/09

11 thoughts on “Let it Come”

  2. Teresa Everett

    Kim,
    Thank you for this heart wrenching and truthful post. I have been having some harder times lately, missing my son Sloan so much, 17 months for our family. Your words have helped me to confirm that I just need to let go and go through these times and not try to subdue it…the “mountain of sadness”, the exhaustion of grief, the never able to escape it, etc etc. You put into words perfectly the thoughts and feelings so many of us traveling this road of child loss have. I thank you for sharing your gift of being able to do this.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Teresa, I am sorry this hard road is even harder for you right now. That second year can be pretty tough. How blessed we are that this awful pain is not wasted. It’s not for nothing and when we finally see the other side of it, I just know we will laugh with joy and delight. Until then, we will hurt, but not without hope. ❤

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  3. Within this post is truth that one can almost taste, because it goes that deep. And I believe, like David did, it is only understood at this level by those who have experienced the insight initially so that the lose can be weighed in balance. I’m not sure if I said that correctly but I sense Kim that you will know what I mean. This is a beautiful post Kim, thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Sue Sloan

    God knew I needed this today. I’ve shed more tears than I have in months. So much grief, but yet hope…. because I know where my son is now and I will see him in heaven again one day. Thank you for these words.

    Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

    Liked by 3 people

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