Thursday Prayer: Permission to Mourn

Lord, I've been avoiding mourning, scared that if I start feeling the pain I'll be overwhelmed by it. I've kept myself too busy to grieve, too distracted to feel, too numb to acknowledge how much it hurts. But you say mourners are blessed - not because grief is good but because honest mourning positions me to receive comfort.

Give me courage to mourn what deserves mourning - the losses I've minimized, the grief I've denied, the pain I've pretended doesn't exist. Help me feel it fully without being destroyed by it. Sit with me in the sadness. Let me weep without shame. I don't need to be strong right now; I need to be honest.

Thank you for promising comfort to those who mourn. I'm trusting that promise even when comfort feels impossibly distant. You don't rush my grief or minimize my pain. You honor it by being present in it. Weep with me until we get to the other side where comfort waits. I'm mourning. Hold me through it.