When Grief Comes… And It Will

Grief. It doesn’t ask for permission. It doesn’t wait for the right time. It crashes in, unexpected and uninvited, settling deep into your bones. It steals your breath, tightens your chest, and makes even the simplest things feel impossible.

And the hardest part? You never really know how long it will stay.

There’s no formula for quick healing. No timeline for when the ache will ease. It could be hours, days, years—or a weight you carry for the rest of your life. And grief? It doesn’t just come in one circumstance.

It’s the baby you never got to hold.

The womb that was once full of hope but now feels so empty.

The marriage you fought for that still fell apart.

The best friend who became a stranger.

The loss of a loved one far too soon, when you weren’t ready to say goodbye.

The illness that’s stealing the person you love.

The dreams that shattered when life didn’t go the way you planned.

Grief wears many faces.

And when it comes? It demands to be felt.

I know there are stages to grief. I’ve been there. I’ve felt each and every one. And I remember one particular moment when the weight of it all became unbearable. Anger and sadness swirled in my chest, grief pressing so hard I could barely breathe. I knew I had to feel it all-I couldn’t run from it, couldn’t numb it, couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there.

So through tears, I whispered the only prayer I could…“Please God, all I ask is that You help me grieve well.”

Because I didn’t want to get stuck there. Stuck in the pain and confusion. Stuck in the endless why, God? loop that only seemed to echo back silence. I needed to remember the good, the joy, and feel them too. To let them glue the cracks in my broken pieces back together. Because grief might change me, but I didn’t want it to steal the love, the memories, the beauty of what once was.

And as I sat with my pen in hand today, I wrote this out:

“It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to be sad. Just be sure you don’t stay there. I may not give you the answers you want, but I will answer in a way I will one day reveal to you. So be angry, feel broken-but when you’re ready, I am waiting, right beside you. I love you more than you could ever feel or understand.”

Maybe this post isn’t for you today. But I bet you know someone who needs to hear this. Someone who needs to be reminded that they are seen, heard, and not forgotten.

And sometimes, the best thing we can do for someone in grief isn’t to fix it or find the right words.

It’s simply to show up.

We open our home to them. We sit across from them. We pour the coffee. We listen-or we sit in silence, holding space for their pain. We let them cry, we let them feel, we let them be.

And when we are alone? We pray.

We pray for them.

We pray for ourselves.

We pray for the strength to hold onto God even when grief feels unbearable.

Because joy will be found in Him again.

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But one day, the light will break through the darkness. The weight won’t feel quite as heavy. The ache won’t feel quite as sharp.

And sometimes, when the sorrow lingers longer than we thought it would, when the answers don’t come and the pain feels endless, all we can do is whisper:

“I trust You, Lord, to carry me through.”

Because trust is all we have.

Faith in knowing that the trials will keep coming, but God will walk them all alongside us. He will not leave us in the middle of our sorrow.

So if you’re the one carrying grief today, I need you to hear this:

God is with you. Right now. Right here. In the silence, in the questions, in the tears you cry when no one else is watching.

You are not alone.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. -Psalm 34:18

Love, Sarah x.

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