The One Crumpled On The Ground
I am deeply affected by seeing others grieve. I am affected on a level many others don’t understand.
Why? Why do I feel so deeply for strangers and friends who have lost loved ones?
Because I’ve been the one crumpled on the ground in a heap of grief. I’ve been the one on my knees trying to breathe, gasping for air as I sob and choke on my own tears. I’ve been the one asking God to let me die because it’s too hard to live.
Once you’ve been the one crumpled on the ground you are affected forever when you see others whose legs won’t hold them up under the crushing weight of grief. You’ve become part of a “club” no one ever wants to be a member of — the cost to join is much too high.
No, my son did not die as a US Service Member, he died from a terminal illness, but the grief is the same. Whether you lose a child or spouse or parent or other one you deeply love — the grief is still the same.
For those who do not understand why I am deeply affected by seeing others grieve — why I post about them, ask for prayers and write things to try and console them — consider yourselves blessed because you do not understand.
I am not strong, but the God Who is in me is, and that’s how I can now stand, as one who has been crumpled on the ground.
Jackie Deems copyright 2023
