After my brother died I went through a difficult time. Life seemed to lose its meaning and many of the things I’d been holding so tightly began to slip from my grip as I contemplated the usefulness of everything I was striving for.

A friend of mine shared a song by Nichole Nordeman and the chorus seemed to put a melody to my pain:

This is the unmaking
Beauty in the breaking
Had to lose myself
to find out who you are
Before each beginning
there must be an ending
Sitting in the rubble
I can see the stars

Sometimes grief, turmoil, and tragedy bring about moments of clarity that cut through the superficial; we see the true meaning of life and realize that honoring those we love and being in the center of Gods will is all that matters.

It’s only after ‘The Unmaking’ that God can rebuild us. It’s when we’re surrounded by the epiphany of the emptiness of our pursuits that we look up with real honesty and transparency.

And sometimes (just like Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son) God doesn’t plan to take anything from us, He just needs us to have a heart that’s willing to let it go.

Jodie Stevens