God's presence in the valley of the shadow of death

I recently contracted COVID-19, and thankfully it was a mild illness.  I am grateful that it was mild for me, but it made me start thinking about how many people had their lives upended by losing someone they love.  I dedicate these thoughts to them.
I am so sorry that this scourge has robbed you of someone that you love.  I know that there was a lot of worry and meeting with doctors.  
I know that there were moments you thought your loved one was improving and then the dark painful moments when you watched them get worse.  
I know that it probably all seems like a bad dream and you keep hoping that you will wake up soon.  
I know that right after your loved one died you were very busy and surrounded by family and friends.  
I also know that as the days/weeks/months have passed everyone has had to return to their “normal” daily life.  You too have returned to work and many other things too, but you continue to be inflicted with a great pain and emptiness.  The dull pain of loss waxes and wanes, but never really goes away completely.  Sometimes you have to remind yourself to breathe, and even that seems a difficult task.
I am truly sorry for your pain.  I know that the pain we feel at such a loss is a marker pointing out how much love we shared.  
I also know that Jesus came to redeem all of our loss and all of our suffering.  Somehow and at some time, God is going to turn every hurt and sorrow into the means of Him bestowing grace on us.   
The grace that He bestows will far outshine the suffering that He transformed in the first place.
Lastly, please know that you are not going through this loss alone.  The Lord is with you, and so are the members of the Body of Christ.  My prayer for you is that you feel His consolation and that you know that He is with you as you travel through the valley of the shadow of death.
 — Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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