Last Friday, I went on opening night to see the Barbie movie. Without giving away any spoilers, one of the most memorable scenes was a dance party where someone, in the midst of their dance moves asks the dancing group, “Do you guys ever think about dying?” Record scratch. The music stops. Crickets. Dolls don’t think about death, the silence seems to say. But humans do.
This July, in the middle of summer, we have done a series on grief. Back in February when planning sermon series, we named that grief is a universal experience that needed to be discussed and it would be better to do it in the summer rather than the winter. Through this month, we have explored many facets of grief – from those anticipating death, the helpful and unhelpful things people have said or done, the stages of grief, various reasons why people grieve, and how Jesus sees us and weeps with us. You have also heard Pastor Suzanne and Sarah share personal grief stories. My hope and prayer is that you have felt seen, comforted, and cared for during this series.
When I think about navigating personal losses, actively working towards finding meaning and honoring their life with new practices has been the most helpful in getting unstuck in grief. We are meaning making creatures. We can’t help it. Our brains, hearts, and bodies seem to always be looking for connecting experiences and ideas in order to derive meaning. In preparing for my sermon, I felt so affirmed in my own grief work seeing David Kessler’s new book “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief.” I’ve started this book and looking forward to reading more and already know I’ll be recommending it.
This week, I will be sharing about two significant losses in my life and how an idea from a Ted Talk helped me to begin to move from isolation and overwhelm in grief to meaning making. I won’t be able to share the Ted Talk during the service, but I encourage you to watch the Ted Talk for yourself. Click link to watch the video. Link : https://youtu.be/uebxlIrosiM
David Kessler names that finding meaning is for everyone and meaning is all around us, we just have to look to discover it. While you’ll hear some of my story today, I hope in the coming weeks, I can hear how you have found (or are finding) meaning in your life after a loss.
Peace,
Pastor Kate