Grieving the Loss: When Fireworks Meets Heartbreak

The Fourth of July is a day of celebration. Flags wave, families gather, children laugh,

and fireworks explode. There are picnics, community celebrations, parades, and in

some churches, special worship services. Yet for many widows, myself included, this is

a day of loneliness.

Lee was a veteran, and we celebrated Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. In our

motorcycle days, we put a pop-up tent in the Bushtec (trailer), and packed a picnic

supper in the cooler. We were off to a nearby state park for the night. We enjoyed

fellowship and fireworks. We gave up motorcycle trips about 10 years ago and stayed

local (except for a trip to Wichita one year. But this year, like the last four years, I am

home alone. And to be honest, fireworks and picnics are just not on my bucket list.

If your are experiencing something like this, realize that you and I are not alone in our

quiet. We can celebrate the birth of our country in other ways. We can be loyal

Americans even if we don’t shoot off a rocket or go to a concert. We are real Americans

if we simply sit home and experience gratitude that we are citizens of a free country. We

can claim freedom, freedom to grieve honestly without guilt. We can smile when we

remember happy 4 th of July celebrations, like in Wichita, when our son-in-law lifted a

large American Flag on a pole and marched around the picnic ground with a large group

of children following him. And we are free to cry for the discord we see in our country’s

public life.

May God surround you with His comfort today and remind you that He stays close to the

brokenhearted. One gentle step, one treasured memory, and one day at a time.

Son-in-law, Steve, took a flag, recruited two friends, and led an impromptu parade