Healing and Hope

October came in as would be expected. One minute summer, the next minute fall. With all the broody weather to go with the season. October, ushering in fall melancholy with spooky Halloween vibes all around.

But I don’t believe in ghosts. At least not in the literal sense. And I know that ghouls and goblins and Frankenstein will not chase me home. They are decorations or masks that cover up cute chocolate covered faces.

The things that haunt me, if I let them are not the monsters that go bump in the night. The haunting things are less tangible, more wisps at the periphery of my mind. Not what is, but “what if”. Or what could have been.

Loss lingers in the background. Shrouded in the shadows. The things we never got to do. Something missing. Someone missing. Memories never made. Games never played.

I can be haunted by what I did you didn’t do. Could it have been different? Should it have been different? Could I have changed it?

Moody October is a month of remembrance. Of all that has been lost. Those whom we never got to meet. Those who are with us, but only in our hearts.

Now, I can be haunted by those who remain. Did I fail them? Should I have done things differently? Will this shape them negatively? Are they missing out? Will they regret?

But in grief we can still have hope.

In sorrow we can still have joy.

We can mourn what was not

And delight in what is.

We can remember and rejoice.

Loss can haunt us. And the Lord can heal us. Without denying what should have been.

Bring your griefs and fears out of the shadows and into the light where they can be seen clearly, honored fully, and released to the One who cares deeply.

*This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Haunted".

“Can’t Turn Back Now” By Rachel Nevergall next on our Blog Hop!