Too Attached to This World|Finding Heaven in Everyday Grief

🌾 When the Ordinary Moments Bring You to Tears

This morning, I was making a chocolate chai latte (from a packet 😁) when I started thinking about a recipe I used to make years ago. (Chocolate Magic Mud Pudding) I stood on my toes and reached up into my cabinet above the stove where all my cookbooks are stored. It’s been a while since I’d been in this cabinet.

Then I remembered, I used to pull out a fall cookbook every year and display it on my baker’s rack. I had completely forgotten about that little tradition. It was a “cozy recipes” book and on the cover is a picture of a casserole of home baked macaroni and cheese!

So, I went and found it.

As I turned the pages, warm memories came rushing back… and with them, tears. Because that cookbook didn’t just remind me of recipes. It reminded me of us, of those ordinary autumn days when Bill was here, and life was simple and full of quiet joy. Days that wouldn’t look exciting to anyone else but felt like everything to us.

And right there, standing in my kitchen with a latte in hand and tears in my eyes, I whispered,
“Lord, this is still so hard.”

To learn more about me: https://juliedigitalcreation.online/about-me-faith-based-healing-after-loss/

🌦 When Grief Visits the Ordinary

Grief has a quiet way of showing up when you least expect it, not just in the anniversaries and milestones, but in the smallest, most ordinary things.
A scent. A song. A recipe.

Sometimes, those moments feel like ambushes. Other times, they feel like gifts, painful, yes, but sacred too. They can feel good, and sometimes bring on that horrible feeling in my core. This morning, as I felt that ache, I caught myself thinking and I said to the Lord and to myself, “Julie, you’re just too attached to this world.”

But maybe that’s not something to feel guilty about. Maybe it’s something to understand.

💫 Maybe the Ache Points Us Home

The more we lose here, the more Heaven starts to feel like home. I’ve always said, this isn’t my home. This country isn’t my real home. I mean after all, if you’re a believer, you’re residing in two places, here and in the heavenly realm, where we are guaranteed a seat. Not so bad!
Grief doesn’t mean we’ve failed at faith, it can serve as a reminder of where we truly belong.

When everything in this world feels fragile, temporary, or incomplete without the one we love, that longing can turn our gaze upward.
It reminds us that this life, as beautiful as it can be, was never meant to be the whole story.

Heaven changes how we see everything. Thank GOD!

So today, I’ll sip my chai, let the tears come, and thank the Lord for both,
the sweetness of the memory and the peace of knowing I don’t have to hold onto this world too tightly.

God understands this kind of ache.
He doesn’t rush us through it. He sits with us in it.
And maybe, in those quiet tears over a cookbook or a song, He’s gently reminding us:

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
— Colossians 3:2

💛 If you’ve ever found yourself crying over something small that reminded you of someone you love, you’re not alone.
What simple thing brings them to mind for you?

Oh, and I did pull out that fall cookbook, I displayed it on my baker’s rack and I made that mud pudding! I’ll have to post the recipe on the website…

Music Collaboration: Boanergics Edition

Justin, my friend and roommate, took this blog post and created an original music piece to go with it under his YouTube channel, Boanergics101. https://www.youtube.com/@Boanerges101
I love how music can hold emotion in a different way than words alone, and this felt like the story took on a second life.

If you want to experience the post in a slower, more reflective way, press play below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIqiPFeK1Bs