The year our daughter died, I had to stop watching the news. I remember every time there was a big news story about a tragedy, I could hardly keep the scream from escaping; “My child died, too!”
She didn’t get a news story. Nobody was saying her name. Most people didn’t even know she had lived, much less, died. I had lost my whole world that day, yet somehow, the world just kept turning. For the most part, Jeremy and I grieved her alone.
As humans, our attention is drawn to stories. Especially sensational stories. As a result, we sometimes forget that everyone has a story… and everyone’s story matters. Grieving in the spotlight is excruciating; but so is grieving alone. Did my sweet girl matter less because she wasn’t a somebody in the world’s eyes? Not to us, and certainly not to God.
God saw Hagar in the wilderness. He saw Leah in her tent. He saw Hannah in the temple. He saw a gentile widow in Zarephath, and the unnamed woman at the well. His heart was moved with compassion. He saw their tears, and He sees yours.
I say all of this for those who have felt the weight lately: I see you. Your pain matters. Your loss matters. Your person matters. Whether they were known and loved by the whole world, or whether they were known and loved only by you, they matter.
Whether you stand on a platform, or lie on a bathroom floor, you matter.
I know you want to scream at the top of your lungs that you have lost. I get it. You’re not alone. Perhaps that curtain being torn in two was somehow God’s way of releasing a gut-wrenching scream from His own agony. His beloved Son had just died for us, and nothing matters more than that!
That’s how I KNOW your suffering matters to God. He sees. He knows. He walks the valley with you. And He could not love you any more than He does right now.
That torn temple veil grants you direct access to His ear, so go ahead and scream.
Your story matters.
🩷Audra
