Did you know anger + sorrow = anguish? I hope this video (originally recorded on May 11) that explores loss, grief, anguish, and hope provides some comfort in whatever suffering you have experienced or are currently experiencing.⁣
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This video devotional was recorded for a series I was invited to be a part of. We had already experienced so much loss at that point. But this was before George Floyd was killed. This was before thousands and thousands of more Covid victims had died. This was before hurricanes and fires and tornadoes. This was before so many more terrible things happened. ⁣

In this 7-minute video, I talk through various aspects of loss, grief, sorrow, anger, anguish, and hope. I include words and ideas from my very first therapist Dr. Gordon Bals and from a current pastor and friend Zac Hicks.
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When I listened to my words earlier this morning, it was like watching myself preach to myself. When I first spoke these words, I was processing the loss of a friend who ghosted me at the beginning of the quarantine. (I should’ve seen it coming but I totally missed the red flags.) I was processing the loss of normal school year things for my kids. I was processing the loss of aspects of my relationships with my parents for various reasons. In the weeks and months after I recorded this, my dad and I had reconciled, thank God. And since my dad died in August, my mom and I have been inching toward each other with grace and boundaries in ways that seem safe and appropriate for both of us.⁣

Now these words are helping me process and navigate other losses and pointing me to our God who is always present with us and continues to comfort us with love and grace.
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I’m thankful for Gordon and Zac and the other people in my life who show me truth and beauty in ways that help me have a better sense of belonging to myself, others, and God. ⁣
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And I’m thankful for our God who holds us as we hold space for our emotions, as we grieve individually and communally, as we hope for all that we can’t yet see.⁣
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If you watch this video, I pray you will feel less alone and that you will know you are held by God in your anger, sorrow, anguish, and hope.

To hear more about loneliness and grief, listen to Charlotte’s conversation with Gordon Bals on this Hope for the Lonely episode.

Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. Charlotte’s writing and work are rooted in noticing how art helps us belong to ourselves, others, God, and the world. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. You can subscribe to her newsletter and connect with her onTwitter and Instagram.