Popped Balloons & Shattered Dreams - Ruth L. Snyder

My daughter rushed past me.

“Look at my pretty balloon!”

I smiled and nodded, giggling as she chased it across the room. Soon she was out of my sight.

A few minutes later I heard a loud POP.

My daughter shuffled back to me, hand outstretched, holding pieces of balloon. Tears streamed down her face as she clambered onto my lap and sobbed.

At first I was tempted to remind her that it was just a balloon. To tell her there were many more where that one came from.

But God stopped me. “Just hug her and let her grieve. That balloon was special to her. You know how it feels when you lose something precious.

We have all experienced the devastation of popped balloons.

And broken dreams.

Hopes dashed,

expectations disappointed.

Different people deal with grief differently. Some people break grief into stages:

People may experience all the different stages, or just some.

The balloon experience with my daughter reminded me that grief:

When I lost my unborn baby through miscarriage, I grieved deeply.

I was shocked.

I felt alone.

I felt like there was no reason to live.

Gradually,

I walked through the waves of grief,

with the help of God and my husband.

If you are grieving today, know that God is there for you.

On my own blog today, I share some thoughts from John 11 about Jesus and grief. If you’d like me to pray with you, please let me know in the comments below.

Ruth L. Snyder spent the first ten years of her life in southern Africa where her parents served as missionaries. In 1977, her family moved to Three Hills, Alberta. She now resides close to Glendon with her husband and five children.

Ruth enjoys writing articles, devotionals, short stories, and Christian fiction. She is a member of The Word Guild and The Christian PEN. Ruth currently serves as the President of InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship.

In her spare time, Ruth enjoys reading, crafts, volunteering, photography, and travel. Several years ago, Ruth and her family traveled through 28 States in 30 days!