Ralph Waldo Emerson said sorrow makes us all children again.
Eight year old Patricia, attending her first week of camp, taught me a lesson about grief that still impacts my life today. I'm Claudia Mitchell with a minute message from Sherwood Oaks Christian Church.
This little girl (Patricia), had been through trauma that left her so deep in grief that she would not speak. It was my first attempt at leading a girl’s camp and I was up early looking for coffee when I noticed Patricia watching a monarch butterfly struggling in the grass, its wings crippled by the morning dew.
I sat down beside her and gently took the critter in my hand and we waited for what seemed like a long time. As the sun warmed and healed the butterfly we watched as it stood up and flew away.
With tears rolling down her face Patricia leaned against me and whispered, "it just takes time, it just takes time."
If you are grieving a loss today, Isaiah Chapter 40 reminds us that those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength and they will soar on wings like eagles...or perhaps butterflies...it just takes time. It just takes time.