WHEN THE SUN COMES UP
“Phone Call Moments”
Every one of us experiences what I call “phone-call moments” in life.
Moments when everything changes… forever.
One phone call. One conversation. One sentence. And suddenly the life we knew no longer feels familiar.
Maybe your moment happened in a hospital emergency room while waiting beside someone you love.
Maybe it came through a terrible accident, someone standing at your door, the loss of a job or learning your home is in foreclosure.
No matter what your moment was, nothing truly prepares us for shock.
We imagine we’ll know how to respond if tragedy ever comes. We think we’ll be strong. We think we’ll somehow know exactly what to do.
But when grief arrives, shock and sorrow often come together, and suddenly our minds, emotions, and even our bodies struggle to process what has happened.
That’s why I’m beginning this series called Lessons from Austin’s Cabin: Clinging to Hope.
In these short lessons, I want to share pieces of my personal journey through grief. How I survived deep loss and how, little by little, healing came.
My prayer is that if you are walking through your own valley today, these words will remind you that you are not alone; we’ve been there.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Shock is a natural response when life suddenly changes.
Everyone Grieves Differently
Shock is a strange thing
It can last for hours, days, weeks, or even longer. And everyone experiences it differently.
Sometimes grief looks like tears.
But sometimes grief looks like forgetting why you walked into a room, struggling to focus, staring blankly at people while they speak, or feeling emotionally numb because your nervous system is simply overwhelmed.
For some people, shock creates exhaustion. For others, it creates restlessness. Some people cry constantly, while others cannot cry at all in the beginning.
And many grieving people quietly wonder:
“What is wrong with me?”
“Why can’t I think clearly?”
“Why am I reacting this way?”
But often, nothing is wrong. You are grieving.
The human heart was never designed to absorb deep pain instantly.
KEY TAKEAWAY: There is no “right way” to grieve.
Sometimes Shock Protects Us
Over time, I began to realize that shock can actually be protective.
For me, it felt almost like a warm blanket wrapped around my soul after my oldest son passed away.
During those early days, there were arrangements to make, decisions to face, people to speak with, places to travel, and responsibilities that still had to be handled later on.
Looking back now, I know God allowed shock to carry me through what my heart could not yet fully process.
And I thank Him for that mercy.
Sometimes we think healing should happen immediately. But God understands our humanity better than we do.
He knows when the weight is too heavy for us to carry all at once.
Shock does not mean we are weak.
It simply means our hearts are trying to survive.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Sometimes God allows shock to carry us through what our hearts cannot yet process.
Grief Brings Healing
Eventually, though, the shock begins to fade.
And when it does, grief rises to the surface.
That part is not easy.
The numbness slowly lifts, and reality settles deeply into the heart. Emotions begin surfacing that may have been buried beneath the initial crisis.
Sadness. Anger. Fear. Loneliness. Confusion.
And honestly, many people try to avoid that stage.
We distract ourselves. We stay busy. We push the pain down because it hurts too much to face.
But grief is not the enemy.
Grief is part of healing a broken heart.
If we deny it, hide from it, or refuse to process it, we can become stuck in our pain instead of moving through the valley toward healing.
Healing does not happen by pretending the wound is not there.
Healing begins when we allow God to meet us inside the pain.
For me, tears became a very important part of that process.
There were moments I cried alone. Moments I cried while praying. Moments I cried because memories suddenly surfaced without warning.
And over time, I realized tears are not weakness.
They are release.
Just as water cleans a wound on the body, tears help cleanse a wounded heart.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Avoiding grief delays healing. Walking through it brings restoration.
God Sees Every Tear
One of the Scriptures that became meaningful to me during grief is Psalm 56:8, which tells us that God keeps our tears in a bottle.
What a powerful picture.
Every tear matters to Him.
Every sleepless night.
Every silent ache.
Every moment when our hearts feel shattered.
God sees it all.
Sometimes grief can feel incredibly lonely because no one fully understands the depth of what we carry.
But Scripture reminds us that our suffering is never invisible to God.
He sees.
He remembers.
He cares.
And even when humans do not know what to say, God remains near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).
KEY TAKEAWAY: Your pain is never unseen by God. He is near.
Appreciation for Life
As we walk through these lessons together, I hope we remember this:
Eventually… grief can deepen our appreciation for life.
It teaches us to slow down and love people more fully. It reminds us that time is precious and relationships matter deeply.
It strips away many of the distractions that once seemed important and helps us not to sweat the small stuff… and so much seems like small stuff. It helps us see eternity more clearly and prepare for heaven.
Sometimes, through loss, our priorities become aligned with what truly matters most.
If you are currently walking through shock or grief today, I want to encourage you to be gentle with yourself.
Healing rarely happens all at once.
Some days will feel heavier than others. Some moments may surprise you with sudden emotion. But little by little, God brings strength for each day.
You do not have to rush the process.
And you do not have to walk through it alone.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Healing takes time but you do not walk through grief alone.
Thank you for joining me for Lesson #1 from Austin’s Cabin.
I’ll see you next time for Lesson #2.
Until then… keep clinging to hope
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@ AMAZON