Ezra had dug the well with his own hands, years before the drought came. It was his offering—his belief that God would provide water where the land was dry and cracked. But when his wife, Liora, fell ill and passed before the rains returned, the well remained as empty as his arms. Her laughter had once filled the small house near the acacia trees, and now silence echoed louder than any desert wind. Ezra stopped praying, stopped speaking, stopped visiting the village. Each morning he sat beside the stone mouth of the well, listening—not for water, but for something, anything, from the God who now felt absent.
One dusk, a stranger appeared—dust‑covered, limping, and clutching a fainting child. The man’s eyes pleaded where his voice had failed. Ezra hesitated, the instinct to turn away burning inside his chest. But a memory of Liora’s gentle hands steadied him. He led them to the well and dropped the bucket, more out of habit than faith. The rope unspooled into silence—then came a sound he hadn’t heard in years: a splash. Water. He pulled the bucket up slowly, disbelief trembling in his fingers. It came up dripping. Ezra fell to his knees, not from exhaustion but from something deeper—a long‑frozen grief beginning to melt.
The child drank first. Then the man. Ezra sat back, his palms damp with the overflow, his eyes filling. That night, under the stars his wife used to name aloud, Ezra wept—not just for what he’d lost, but for the love he had feared was gone forever. In giving when he had nothing left, something had returned. Not just water—but presence. The ache didn’t vanish, but it found room beside a new peace.
💧 How to Navigate Grief: Practices & Scripture
1. Acknowledge your sorrow and bring it to God:
“Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
2. Receive comfort from God, then pour it out to others:
“God of all comfort … comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may comfort those in any affliction.” (2 Corinthians 1:3‑4)
3. Let the mourning process unfold—allow grief its time:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
4.
Trust that healing is real, even when invisible:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
5. Rest in Jesus when you’re weary of carrying grief alone:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden … and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28‑30)
🕊️ Lesson:
Grief may silence our faith for a time, but God is not absent in our emptiness. Often, healing flows not in the moment we demand answers, but when we dare to act in love—even with a broken heart. In serving others, we may uncover the very thing we thought God had taken away: hope.