How You Can Trust God More When Grief and Loss Return

Faith + Purpose | Encouragement | Healing Through Faith

(Inspired by "The Cat Who Carried Love")

This last week, I have been reminded that even when you think you have healed, Grief has a strange way of grabbing your heart and reminding you that mourning the ones we love comes in many different layers.

The passing of our beloved pets — who are very much part of the family — can be especially tough for those of us with fur babies.

But this week, when our old cat Mim passed away, it felt like losing my late husband, Glyn, all over again. You see, she was his cat — the one who slept on his lap, who curled against him on winter nights, who followed him around as if she knew his every thought.

After Glyn died, Mim became a living link to him. When I held her, I was somehow holding him too — the memory of his hands, the warmth of his presence, all wrapped in fur and purrs. She was a quiet comfort I didn't even realise I was still clinging to.

Now that she's gone, it feels as though that thread has finally snapped — the one that tied the past so gently to the present. I keep reaching for her out of habit, half expecting her to appear at my feet or leap onto the bed. But the house is still, and that silence carries both sadness and gratitude.

Sadness as yet another chapter of my loving married life is closed, yet gratitude because Mim stayed long enough to help us heal.

Long enough to carry his love into these years without him.

And though that connection feels severed now, maybe love never really breaks — it just shifts from something we can touch into something we can feel.

Today, I want to talk about what God has been teaching me through this — about finding His comfort in unexpected places. Because Grief doesn't only visit when we lose someone we love; it can show up when dreams change, when seasons shift, or when God quietly asks us to release something that once felt safe.

1. When Loss Comes Back Around

There are always lessons when it comes to loss, this week I realise that Grief doesn't always come once and go quietly. Sometimes, it circles back — soft but steady — when we lose something that once helped us hold on.

Mim's passing reminded me that Grief is rarely about just one moment in time.

It's about all the moments that follow.

It's about the echoes of love that linger in the smallest corners of our lives — a sound, a scent, a familiar rhythm of what was.

But within that ache, God meets us.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

— Psalm 34:18

When the ache feels sharp and fresh again, it's not a step backward.

It's a sign of love still alive.

And it's a sign that our Lord is there when our hearts are tender with pain, being the strength that sometimes our spirit is broken.

2. God's Love Never Leaves — It Transforms

My biggest lesson in Grief is the realisation that love doesn't disappear with death or endings.

It transforms.

Glyn's love lived on through Mim's gentle company. And God's love — the deeper, eternal kind — holds steady beneath it all.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life… will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

— Romans 8:38–39

Even when everything feels lost and when despair and Grief grips your heart, God's love remains the thread that never snaps.

Lean on that love when you feel, broken and trust it will carry you through.

Hebrews 13:5, states, "I will never leave you nor forsake you,"

Our God is always there, and His is the quiet voice that says, "You're not alone. I'm still here."

3. Grief Isn't Only About Death

You might not be grieving a person or a pet — maybe you're grieving a dream, a business idea, or a season of life that has changed.

Grief shows up when we outgrow something we loved, when a chapter closes before we were ready, or when God whispers, "let go," and we'd rather hold on.

Even in business, I've learned that sometimes God asks us to release what once worked — the product, the project, the season — not because it failed, but because it fulfilled its purpose.

Faith in those moments means trusting God and knowing that endings aren't punishment.

They're preparation for God to bring new beginnings into our lives and businesses.

For my little family, Grief has brought many new beginnings, from a new business to living in the country and maybe in the future, a new pet that we can love with a new connection, just my daughter and me.

4. From Grief to Growth

Thinking about my Grief today, the Grief of Glyn reignited by the Grief of the loss of his cat Mim, I feel so honoured and blessed to have the knowledge that God is with me through this pain.

When we invite God into our pain, Grief becomes sacred ground.

It softens us.

It reminds us what truly matters. Love.

The love of God, the love and connection between our family and friends and of course the love we share with our beloved pets.

And as strange as it sounds, Grief can also grow our faith. It teaches us to listen again. To slow down. To let go of what's gone and open our hands to what's next.

"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others."

— 2 Corinthians 1:4

The comfort we receive in our hardest seasons becomes the compassion we carry forward.

It’s because of that comfort — the presence of God in times of hardship and loss — that I write posts like this today.

It’s the reason I started my business: to help other women create faith-led businesses online. To show that even out of grief, God can grow something beautiful — purpose, peace, and provision that overflows to others.

Jesus comforts us so that we can become comforters. He turns our pain into ministry, our tears into testimony, and our losses into light for someone else’s path.

If you’re in a season of rebuilding — in life, faith, or business — I’ve created a free guide to help you take the next small, faithful step.

It’s called “21 Purpose-Filled Niche Ideas for Christian Women Who Want to Earn Online.” You can download it HERE, and I pray it reminds you that even from loss, God can grow something beautiful and new. 🌿

5. Reflection + Encouragement

Finally, if you're walking through your own quiet loss — personal, spiritual, or even professional — may these thoughts help you breathe again:

• Love doesn't end; it transforms.
• Letting go doesn't mean losing; it means making space for what's next.
• God is not absent in endings; He's present in the tender rebuilding.

And please remember, you don't have to rush your healing.

Always be gentle with your heart as you walk side by side with your Grief in Grace with God.

Mini Devotional: When Love Changes Form

📜Scripture:

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." — John 14:18

🕊 Reflection:

Love never truly leaves. It changes form — from presence to memory, from what we held to what holds us.

🙏 Prayer:

Lord, thank You for the reminders of love You weave through my life — even in loss.

Help me to see Your hand in the letting go, and to trust that You're still writing beauty from the ache.

Teach me to hold love lightly and faith tightly.

Amen.

And to you, my beloved Mim, I say this: "Rest easy, sweet Mim. You carried love well."

Stay Blessed,

Deborah 💛