Honeymoon from hell?

Good morning.

Last year I got married to the love of my life and we got an invitation to enjoy our honeymoon on a gorgeously quiet Greek Island by my old manager who had relocated there. We accepted the invitation, booked the flights, secured the accommodation and were finally on our way to enjoy the most incredible week of rest, which we thoroughly deserved after months of wedding planning. Upon arrival, the owner of the apartment warmly welcomed us, showed us into our room only to now break the sad news that our friend who we had come to visit sadly passed away the day before.

What? How? I had been interacting with her the whole week before travelling. Was this a joke? I felt lost for words and tried to get my head around the news, but when the reality finally sank in, I broke down and wept. Life has a way of throwing unexpected curveballs, and this one was certainly one we did not anticipate. How do you begin to enjoy your sweet, romantic honeymoon when grieving a friend? I feel like I went through the 5 stages of grief in those 5 days, from denial, anger, bargaining, depression and then finally acceptance; all while trying to be present and make new memories. Yet even in those dark moments of processing that loss, I felt such a deep peace that I knew was from God and was able to have precious time reminiscing and sharing memories of my friend with my husband who sadly never got to meet her. In life we are constantly carrying both lament and joy simultaneously. Death is very much a part of our existence here on earth, one that we can’t escape. Today, I pray that we may find peace and joy even in a season of grief and loss.

Amen.