You Are Not Your Grief

“You Are Not Your Grief” 18 x 24 inches, oil pastel on paper, is part of my solo show at KORE Art Gallery. The show runs from March 3 until April 4, 2021.

John 16:20b (NIV) You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

            Almost daily I collapsed across the bed, weeping while no one was looking. Sometimes I couldn’t hide my tears and broke down in the middle of a meeting. We had moved to Mozambique to be missionaries, and I wasn’t sure I would survive.

            The experienced missionaries said depression was normal for the first four to six months, which was little comfort when I was facing several more months of misery! Those were the days before cell phones, and dial-up email was our best way to communicate. I had lost my father before moving overseas, and this move felt like losing my mother as well. Mom was too set in her ways to use email, and telephone calls were difficult and outrageously expensive.

            Worst of all, the culture shock was overwhelming. Language struggles, fears of malaria, and constant guilt for being a “rich American” plagued my mind. Beggars surrounded our car when my husband drove us into town. Escape seemed impossible. In the mirror, I saw grief staring back.

            Then one morning in prayer, God changed my perspective, and suddenly I saw myself as fiercely loved by God and so many others. God reminded me of my identity. I am not my grief. I am God’s beloved, and so are you.

The "Grief Is a Wolf" series of pastels will be on display as part of my solo show from March 3 until April 4 at Kore Art Gallery, 942 E. Kentucky St., Louisville, Kentucky 40204. Open Wednesday thru Saturday 11:00 to 6:00, Sunday 12:00 to 4:00. A percentage of sales from the show will go to Kentucky Refugee Ministries.