Ambiguous loss can feel like a paradox—how can you grieve someone who is still physically present, or how can you move on when there’s no finality to a loss? If I grieve the loss, does that mean I am giving up hope? Is there really a place for my grief when there are people who have suffered so much more? The lack of closure can leave individuals feeling stuck in a cycle of longing and pain, making the grief process feel more complicated.

What I have learned about life and suffering is that it isn’t a straight path up the mountain in which a person looks down and teaches those below him everything about life….

If we listen, sorrow has a prophetic voice, declaring that not all is well in the world. The voice weeps, howls, and rages at the suffering and injustice in the world. It speaks truth about the gap between what we are made for and where we find ourselves. It joins the cry of creation groaning for redemption. It is a holy cry: a sacred discontent.

Depression leaves no area of our lives untouched: our capacity for relationship with others, our physical energy, our ability to think, our mood, our connection with God or our spirituality. What is worse is that it often feels disconnected from our outside circumstances.

Self care is not a permanent escape from reality. It allows us to step away, gain perspective, and recharge.