THE EMPTY SEAT AT THE THANKSGIVING TABLE

While the table is set and the guests are arriving, there may be one empty seat at the dining room table this year. For some of you, there may be two or more. There will be times when the pain of losing someone you love will be nearly more than you can bear, but God will be with you and He will sustain you. He may not take the pain away and the sadness that comes, but He sees every tear that falls and He will give you strength to bear it. 

The Lord is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34 KJV), and that gives us great assurance that what He has done to encourage and comfort other people who have lost loved ones, He will also do for you. Having witnessed God’s amazing grace firsthand, I can assure you that God will be with you. He is the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). 

He walked with us through the loss of our daddy in 2010…I still remember the beautiful way the Lord opened my eyes to see the angels come into the room; from the snow falling outside—and all the memories that flooded my mind as we all gathered around him for his last hours and final breath here on earth. While it has been a few years, I still remember his hand touching my head and hearing the sound of his voice and his heartbeat those last 17 days as we surrounded him in the Cancer Center. Sometimes, when a movie is on that brings back memories, my eyes fill with tears. But I KNOW I will see him again in heaven for all eternity. 

Grief is very real—and can leave you with a hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach. Even when you know your loved one is a believer in Christ and gone home to be with the Lord, the pain of death and loss is still heartbreaking. The time it takes for healing is different for each person. Don’t allow anyone to make you feel guilty because you are still grieving. Give yourself permission to work through your loss. 

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Jesus wept with Mary following the death of her brother Lazarus. Just as surely as Jesus wept with her, God weeps with us in times of loss and sorrow. 

The apostle Paul tells us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). 

Grief is not an enemy—it is a healing gift from God—that when embraced, you can walk through the process to healing. As you share your sorrow with God, you will experience His comfort. You can move forward in healing as you face your hurts, pain, doubts, and fear in God’s Holy presence. 

Understand that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. It is God’s presence that will see you through. Grief is part of the process—the redemptive work of God—that brings healing to every broken heart that turns to Him. 

My prayer is that instead of reliving the death, you will cherish the memories. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). 

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He has conquered death, hell, and the grave; and He is coming back again. 

Thank God for family and friends. 

By Deborah Starczewski

*BOOKS BY DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. 

 A LEAP OF FAITH (25 Days at the Mercy Seat)… an amazing account of God’s divine intervention, with the bittersweet story of how the Lord took my daddy home, how God walked with us through open-heart surgery for our son, and the 25 days at Mercy Hospital with my husband—through life and death situations. 

GOD’S PRICELESS TREASURE (Learn how to move from drama to destiny).

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR (Will America Turn Back To God?)

Be blessed today—knowing that GOD loves you with an everlasting love. He bottles your tears for all eternity. Scripture reminds us of this, and in fact, we are told in Psalm 56:8, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.”