June 24 – Transformation Through Loss
In every loss, there is a hidden invitation to transformation. What feels like the end is often the place where God is making us new. Richard Rohr
Gregg’s Reflection
Loss has a way of stripping life down to what really matters. I’ve walked through seasons where the losses felt relentless—loss of dreams, relationships, security. In the moment, I would have given anything to escape the pain. But looking back, I see how those very losses shaped me, softened me, and opened me in ways that comfort never could.
There’s something about standing in the rubble of what was that forces you to ask deeper questions: Who am I without this? Where is God in this? What is mine to do now? Over time, I began to notice that loss wasn’t the end of my story—it was the soil where something new could grow.
It’s not that God causes loss to teach us a lesson. Rather, God meets us in our grief, tenderly reshaping us through it. The wounds don’t disappear, but they can become places where grace flows in and out more freely.
Scripture
He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
Ancient Quotes
The wound is the place where the Light enters you.
Jalāl al-Dīn , The Essential Rumi, trans. Coleman Barks, p. 153
In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.
Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Canto 1
Trials and adversities help us to know ourselves better, and to know that we are nothing without God.
Teresa of Ávila, The Way of Perfection, Ch. 32
Modern Quotes
In every loss, there is a hidden invitation to transformation. What feels like the end is often the place where God is making us new.
Richard Rohr, Falling Upward, p. 45
Journaling Prompts
- What is one loss in your life that changed you in unexpected ways?
- How have you experienced God’s presence in times of grief?
- What “new thing” has grown in the soil of a past loss?
- Where might God be inviting you to see possibility in the midst of pain?
Surrender and letting go will happen again and again in your life. When I turned 65, God led me to let go of my leadership roles and focus on equipping others to lead. A few years later, God led us to let go of life in Atlanta and move to Colorado full time. This year, we are letting go of our off grid log cabin that was our dream and vision for 25 years to move closer to community and health care. What does surrender look like in your life?
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 25 Reflection: Letting Go/Surrender