The Voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?"
"The World can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble."
~Thomas Watson
Psalms 9:9-10
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."
Matthew 5:13
"We know that our loved one has died. Do we recognize that in that death a part of us has died, too! The part of us that lived in our relationship to that person alive in the world has died. The part of us that lived in expectation of a future on earth together has died. The part of us that enjoyed the commonality of shared memories has died. This is a lot to lose... We have to let go and then in the spaces where those deaths have occurred, new life will spring. Some of the new life may be our new relationship with our lost love." ~Martha Hickman
"At every point in the human journey we find that we have to let go in order to move forward; and letting go means dying a little. In the process we are being created anew, awakened afresh to the source of our being." ~Kathleen Fischer
My journal of grief for my daughter Crystal involves a part of me dying. I have turned to the spirit of her creativity in her art work to help move forward. My new relationship is with her as an artist and her legacy of writing notes and cards for the people she loved. I have continued that legacy with my Card Ministry "Crystal Expressions." I joined multiple groups "Cards of Kindness, Cards for Cool Kids, Small Acts Big Change, Braid Missions, Smiles for Seniors, etc. to share her passion for coloring and designing cards. It gives me comfort sharing her artwork with others.
I have opened my hand and heart to relinquish and to receive.
Psalm 91:11
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7
"Faith is born and sustained by the word of God, and out of faith grows the flower of joy."
John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Psalm 19:1-4 NIV
Psalm 147:3
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
John 16:33
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
John 16:22
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthian 1:3
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 31:3
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- Not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
2 Timothy 1:9
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
Psalms 8:3-5 NKJV
He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night , and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away, they return and lie down in their dens. How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number--living things both large and small.
~Psalm 104:19-26 NIV
The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent. and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
`Psalm 104:2-5
~Jeremiah 31:35
Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
~Proverbs 11:29 ESV
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
~Acts 2:1-4 ESV
~Mark 4:39 ESV
"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit."
~John 3:8 ESV
Matthew 6:28-30 NIV
See! The Winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
~Song of Songs 2:11-12 NIV
"Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."
~Luke 12:27
But the rich should take pride in their humiliations - since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossoms falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
~James 1:10-12
A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever."
~Isaiah 40:6-8 NIV
~Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
