The magnifying effect

Grief has magnifying effect. It’s horrible and beautiful and transforms you at the core. Grief makes bad worse and good even better.

For me, grief was like getting a new pair of glasses. Everything around me immediately seemed clearer. More intense.

At first, all I saw was devastation. Not just my own pain, but also the pain of the world around me. Everything seemed so dark. So hopeless. So broken. All pain seemed more intense than it had before. The world seemed cold. I couldn’t so much as watch the news without breaking down at the reality of the evil that has penetrated our world.

As time progressed, my newfound vision began to magnify the side of grief that often goes unnoticed. I began to see things that I had never noticed before.

The beautiful side of grief.

Grief also magnifies the good. It has opened my eyes to the beauty in the world around me. 

The joys that I experience are more intense than they've ever felt before. Yes, the ache is still there. I don't think it will ever go away. I don't think it's supposed to before Heaven. I wouldn't want it to. 

Along with the ache comes a newfound appreciation for what is good. 

Life moves slower. 

Colors are brighter. 

Laughter isn't taken for granted. 

Compassion grows. 

A sunrise is no longer just a sunrise. It is a gift that I wasn't promised. 

New life is more miraculous than ever. I've seen that life isn't guaranteed, and I realize that all life is a beautiful gift that none of us are promised.  

I cannot look at the stars without contemplating my smallness. And God's greatness. 

Grief has caused me to fix my eyes on Heaven, and that has radically changed my perspective. Sure, I lose my focus at times. But grief has helped me to consider the promise that lies before us and just how beautiful that promise is. 

It has caused me to see how hopeless life is without the promise of salvation. Without the sacrifice of Jesus and the promise of Heaven for those who love Him.

Grief may have made the bad feel worse, but it makes the good feel ever better.