I watched a devotion from Time of Grace Ministry this morning that really made sense to me. It was about how grief can easily transfer into fear and fear into anger. We get angry when someone leaves us behind – when we can’t imagine life without them – we may not understand why any of this is happening. Mary Magdaline was so overcome with grief when she approached Jesus’ tomb on that first Easter morning. Even when Jesus spoke directly to her, she didn’t recognize Him. When He said her name, “Mary,” she responded immediately to her Savior’s voice.

How often do we turn our sadness, our fears, our losses into anger? Suddenly it seems that the whole world is against us. In thinking about our youth today, you can’t help but wonder how they are coping with today’s world. It is a world full of fear, death, wars, confusion about who they are, bullying behavior and so much more. Alcohol and drugs are often a result of these feelings and usually are turned to in order to numb what they face each day.

When we discover that a terminal or life changing disease has affected someone we love, the same thing occurs. We might go through the same steps a person does when they’re grieving. You wonder what you did to deserve this. You wonder why it isn’t you instead of them. How will you survive without them? As time goes by, you receive comfort from friends, but eventually they forget about your loss or sadness. You don’t hear from them again. The prayers that are being said, might even seem pointless. As you go through this process, you could even blame God for your situation.

The photo I’ve chosen of wise, old Yoda, is not a typical place to start with the actual wisdom of living, but the words make sense. Getting to the root of anger, frustration, anxiety, depression – which is almost always caused by fear – is a real problem in our current society. We’ve been through some volatile years. Those times have had a deep impact on our mental health along with the mindset of our young people. So, what do we do? Like Mary, our grief, our fears, our sadness can all be dealt with when we know that our Savior never – NEVER – leaves us. He has promised to be with us through all our difficulties. The One we need the very most, is right in front of us. Turn to Him now.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!