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As a child, my heart skipped at the thought of Easter jelly beans and egg hunts. But those traditions only point to a greater reason to celebrate—His Resurrection!

The Easter Gospel story is amazing. But did you know that in it there is an example for us to follow on how to manage grief? It’s right there when the angel carries a message from God to grieving women at the tomb.

That message encourages the women to take two steps which we need to take: 1) Allow Him to Interrupt Your Grief. 2) Follow Him Intently.

1) Allow Him to Interrupt Your Grief

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him… And they were saying…, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”… And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back–it was very large….And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
Mark 15:1, 3-6 (ESV)

They came to grieve. They were interrupted by God’s revelation.

Like the women taking the time with their oils and spices, our early grief is precious.

But there comes a moment when deep down you know it’s time to move forward. At the tomb, God stepped in and revealed to the women why they can have Hope.

He still reveals this Hope to us.

Just read the Gospel and listen to His Holy Spirit. For me, a combination of God’s nudging and someone noticing my low state had me taking inventory of how my normal grief had teetered towards wallowing. My kids were whining more and more about missing Dad. It became a handy way to whine about lots of things, and I was a pushover—afraid they’d be emotionally wounded if I didn’t cave to them.

At one point I plopped onto our family grief counselor’s couch— defeated and worn out. My six-year-old sat on my lap demanding and crawling all over me. My eight-year-old brooded next to me, and my ten-year-old whimpered, “I miss Dad.” And the 12-year-old? Well, he acted fine, just fine—of course, he wasn’t. None of us were. We lost the best dad in the world.

The counselor watched for a minute, and then vocalized what I heard in my heart from the Lord, “Where’s Kit?’ He said. “What happened to that vibrant mom she’d been all these years?”

I knew where my focus should be.

My return to strength was so rapid it could only be God.

Have you had an interruption to grief that shifted you into forward mode? If not, be patient, you’ll know when the Lord is nudging you.

2) Follow Him Intently

“He is not here,” the angel said. “He has gone to…”

…He is not here. See the place where they laid Him… He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.
Mark 16: 6-7 (ESV)

“He is not here.” Think about the power in those words. While the Gospel honors the ceremonious anointing of the body with oils, the angel is clear. No longer were they to linger at the tomb! And while there is a time for mourning our husbands, eventually we turn our attention to Christ and the future.

He’s not here, but He’s THERE. Where is your “there”?

What “THERE” is the Holy Spirit leading you to?

If Jesus’s body had remained at the tomb, His followers’ focus and purpose would have remained on the brutal crucifixion, not on the good news that they were about to be commissioned with.

Are you “remaining at the tomb”? Of course, there is a time for memorializing, but do you feel Christ calling you to the next commission He has for you?

Go where He sends you.

Lord Jesus,

Thank You for the Easter story and for that example of faithful grieving You placed right there in the Gospel. It gives us encouragement each year when we read the Easter story. Help each of our sisters here to step positively into the future with Hope and Your purpose! Amen.