Tears in a Bottle: A Journey through Grief

By Vickie Truett

"Jesus wept . . ." No matter if it is your parent, spouse, child or friend who dies, grief comes to us all. Vickie Truett has walked this road and has a Biblical message of comfort and hope to share with you in her book. "Tears in a Bottle; A Journey Through Grief" will encourage you and point you to the eternal source of comfort. Take time to read this book and keep a Bible close by to read the many passages referenced and mark them in your copy of scripture. Vickie found God's healing and moved from tears to song. While you may not have a voice like hers, you will once again sing with joy when the Father of all comfort teaches you from the pen of this lady. A cliché people often use is "read them and weep," I suggest you read these pages and find joy in the tears. Pastor Ted Taylor, Olive Baptist Church, Pensacola, FL

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644716342

Book preview

9781644716342_cover.jpg

Tears in a Bottle

A Journey through Grief

Vickie Truett

ISBN 978-1-64471-633-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64471-634-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Vickie Truett

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

To the memory of those who have gone before us: my father, John Dale; my mother, Mabel Dale; my mother-in-law, Vera Truett; Aunt Connie, grandparents, and family and friends who no longer walk among us.

More importantly, this book is dedicated to those who are hurt. To the ones stumbling through the painful path of grief and loss. My prayer is that you will find comfort and peace through these pages.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank my husband, Ron, for his support and belief in me; my sister, Debbie, for her ongoing example of grace under pressure, and the friendship with her that I cherish; to John and Kathy, for all the music and believing in the mission. To Tim Kaufman—this really is all your fault! Mary Kuckock and Michele Hudson, for thinking I had more to say than I could convey in a song. The Bridge Fellowship of Olive Baptist Church, for all the prayer, support, and friendship. Finally, and most, I would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You have taken me through the storms and fitted me for this new work in my life. Thank you for setting before me an open door. I am so grateful.

Introduction

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

—Psalm 23:1–6

When we are in the middle of the storm, walking through grief and sorrow, it can be difficult to hold on to the promises of this scripture. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that what we feel does not negate what the word of God says: that our emotions may lead us away from what we know is truth because our level of pain is so intense.

We have a God who knows us in a very intimate way. He is personally acquainted with every aspect of our lives. He knows our name. He knows our steps, the number of our days, our comings and goings, our strengths and weaknesses. He loves us; He never abandons us to our suffering but guides us tenderly through it.

He truly is our shepherd, gently caring for us, holding us tightly when we are overwhelmed by our circumstances, or lifting us high when we are foundering in deep waters. No one can love us more than He does, and no one could be more involved with our days. He has made provision for every need we will ever have. He has provided safety and blessing when we may not have even been aware of His intervention.

He is good; He desires only what is good for His children even when we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. His hand holds tightly to our own, and He helps us traverse those hard places.

Someday, when this physical life is behind us, we will be ushered into His courts for these years are fleeting, and the veil is thin, and we will experience the glory and holiness of His presence forever. The sufferings and hardship of this world will be past. Our tears will be wiped away, and we will cry no more.

Let this journey through your time of pain or trial turn your gaze to your Savior and allow Him to ease you through your grief and loss.

He is your shepherd; He knows your needs, and He will meet every one. Permit Him to bathe you in the healing oil of His mercy and grace as you step forward away from your sorrow into His healing.

He has helped me in so many ways, and I know He longs to do the same for you. We all begin down the road of loss with slow and faltering steps, but each one of us finishes with gratitude, joy, and wisdom. We know Him and are known by Him more closely than ever before, and it is a wonderful place to rest.

If you find yourself in these pages, I hope you will also find whatever answers you may need to move forward in your life. You are loved, you are precious, and you are not alone. Godspeed.

Chapter 1

Immobilizing Grief

You have taken account of my wanderings, my tears are in Your bottle—are they not in Your book?

—Psalms 56:8

Whenever I read this scripture, I remember in vivid detail walking on the beach after my mother died. The sound of the surf and the echo of screaming seagulls. That endless expanse of sand and sky and water, as deep and as broad and as far reaching as my grief, living and pulsing all around me as far as the eye could see. No end in sight, just that vast emptiness of pain and loss mirrored in the sky and sea and sand.

I walked on that beach almost every day those first few months for miles and miles, completely oblivious to my surroundings. I could feel the salty air on my face and hear the waves crashing onto the beach, but I never felt connected to any of it. I was walking, just walking, as though I had somewhere I needed to go, something I needed to do, some purpose to my wanderings.

In retrospect, I suppose I was running away—away from the sharpness of my loss, the stinging anguish of longing and need. And after a time, I began to grow away from the bitterness, almost as though I had an internal destination. Anywhere but here, any time but now—I wanted out!

Grief does lessen over time—releases its iron grip on our lives—slowly, one talon at a time. But it does loosen, give way, dissolve. Although it never completely leaves us, and sometimes it will take us unaware, breaking over us like a wave and sweeping us up again in that all too familiar anguish of loss, we can move forward and away from it.

One morning, I remember being surprised that the sun was out instead of the seamless bleak gray day after day had been. That I didn’t have to think to breathe, that I was able to move into the day with some purpose. Less fear and trembling, less fear of failing, more certain that I could do it.

One afternoon, driving in my car, I surprised myself by bursting into an original song, full of joy and an overwhelming sense of happiness. The song was brand-new, and I wrote the whole thing from beginning to end in ten minutes. It is called Singing Your Praise.

And it goes like this:

Chorus

You’ve got me singing Your praise

yesterday, and forever, now and always.

You’ve got me singing Your praise

and now I’m never gonna be the same.

Verse 1

Because the day You found me, wrapped Your arms around me

You put my feet on solid ground. You love me like no other, closer than a brother

You turned my life around!

(Repeat Chorus)

Verse 2

For when You whispered to me in a voice so soothing

it could not be denied, You love me like no other, fill my heart with wonder and never say goodbye!

(Repeat Chorus)