Did you buy a ticket for this?

With each stop, people got on but no one seemed to be getting off. The crowded train continued rapidly from stop to stop. One by one, people squeezed on to the train barely making eye contact with one another.

The passengers all headed in the same direction remained lost in their own journey.

I couldn’t help but wonder, how would the trip be different if even just one looked up and acknowledged they weren’t alone?

A friend once described grief as receiving a train ticket for a ride you didn’t want to take and once on you couldn’t get off. But while that may be true, we aren’t on the grief train alone.

I don’t know if you’re grieving today, or if you feel like you’ve been traveling through life alone. But I want to encourage you to look up.

First, look up and seek the face of your Comforter, Jesus. He has not abandoned you and promises to walk with you through the darkest valleys in life.

Then look around. There are others right next to you who understand your struggle. Make eye contact. Share a word of hope. The source of their grief may be different, but their comfort could come from knowing that just like you, they aren’t alone.

Seek God’s comfort. Be brave enough to build community. Then God can use your willingness to look up as a source of comfort to others.

Look Up:

• Sit with God and share your feelings and struggles with him. Then listen to the comfort He has for you and go to His word to seek His truth
• Look someone in the eyes today and ask them how they’re doing. And when they respond “fine,” ask again and give them permission to be honest. And then be willing to be honest about your struggles and source of hope.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV