arrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightcircle-downgrainicon-campPath 39 + Path 42Created with Sketch.emailCreated with Sketch.icon-facebook-footFill 30Created with Sketch.icon-handsicon-heartsicon-helpinsta 2Created with Sketch.icon-leaficon-natureicon-outreachRectangle 193 + Rectangle 194 + Oval 51Created with Sketch.icon-rentalssearch iconCreated with Sketch.icon-touricon-twitter-footFill 2Created with Sketch.icon-updateslogo_exsite
Register or Reserve Donate
Camp
Rentals
Outreach
Nature
Register or Reserve
Camp
Events
Nature School
Rentals
Call us at (501) 821-3063 or email at info@ferncliff.org

Menu

On Grief - A Devotion From Jocelyn In Devotional, Uncategorised Posted April 20, 2020

On Grief - A Devotion From Jocelyn

Grief. No one looks forward to being in a time of grief. No one longs for it and hopes for it and awaits the day they can be…grieving. But man, is it healthy.

We think of grief with the loss of a life. We grieve the death of a loved one, we gather round for a funeral or memorial service, we eat finger sandwiches and we use up box after box of tissues. And we let ourselves grieve.

So often we forget that we need to grieve for other things too. Grief comes when there is loss. We grieve (or we need to) with the loss of a relationship. With the loss of a house or a town when we move. With the loss of a job. When we or someone we love loses their good health. We need to grieve.

And right now, our culture, our country, our world – is grieving. Grieving the loss of stability. The loss of time together and handshakes with strangers. The loss of coffee dates and meals at restaurants. The loss of all the things we had planned that are postponed to some distant future. The loss of people who had so much life yet to live. We have a lot to grieve right now.

At Ferncliff we grieve the loss of Nature Preschool snack times. Of Dining Hall meals devoured and pronounced delicious. Of the DAC filled with kit-makers and goods shoppers. Of Brown Center rooms filled with guests. Of youth retreats running wild and families resting by the lake. We grieve.

So let’s grieve. Let’s sit back and make space for each other to be sad. For things to happen more slowly. Let’s give ourselves the time to sit down for a minute – because we have a lot to grieve. Let’s take care of our hearts – so that then, we can take care of our communities.

Jocelyn Wildhack is our Camp, Events, and Forest Church Coordinator. She is soon to be ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).