Yesterday my daddy was buried.

It’s surreal. All the hugs, the memories shared, the flowers, the tears … it’s been nothing but a hazy fog. The reality of what has happened hasn’t truly begun to sink in, not even the slightest bit. And for now, I’m okay with this shell-shocked feeling.

But I know it won’t always be this way.  Soon, very soon I imagine, the deep grief will begin to work its way in and I will have no choice but to walk through that valley.

While I am sure the grief associated with the loss of a parent is completely different, I have grieved before … the deaths of two beloved great-grandmothers and two close grandparents whom I adored; the unexpected loss of a 14-year marriage, the pain of infertility.  I know what it feels like to be in a dark place of sorrow.

More importantly though, I know from those experiences that the words of the psalmist are true:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. ~Psalms 34:18