I’ve heard it said all my life: “Time heals all wounds.”
And maybe, at first, that sounds like comfort.
But anyone who has walked through grief knows the deeper truth:
Time doesn’t heal all wounds.
Not really.
Not in the way people often mean.
Because some losses stay with us. Some aches settle into our bones and become part of the story we carry.
Grief Doesn’t Disappear — It Changes Shape
Feeling whole again doesn’t happen overnight; it takes months, or even years.
Grief stays.
But over time, with love and grace, it changes.
At first, it may feel sharp, heavy, impossible to bear.
But slowly, not because we forget, but because love walks alongside us, grief becomes something we learn to carry.
Not gone. But different.
What Time Alone Can’t Do
Time alone doesn’t take away the empty chairs at the table.
It doesn’t silence the quiet ache on birthdays or holidays.
It doesn’t remove the deep longing for someone who is no longer here.
But time, coupled with love, helps us carry that ache more gently.
It makes room for both sorrow and joy to sit at the same table.
Love Helps Us Carry What Time Cannot Heal
It’s not really time that heals.
It’s love.
- The love of family who keeps telling the stories.
- The love of friends who sit with us quietly.
- The love of God who never leaves us alone in our sorrow.
Love doesn’t erase grief.
But love makes it bearable.
What Grief Has Taught Me
There have been losses in my immediate family, losses that changed me deeply.
Grief taught me things I never expected to learn:
- How fragile life really is.
- How beautiful small moments can be.
- How important it is to say what matters while we still can.
I haven’t “gotten over” those losses.
But I have learned to carry them differently.
Sometimes with tears.
Sometimes with laughter.
Sometimes with a quiet moment of remembering.
And often, more than I expected, with gratitude for the love that remains.
We Carry Grief Differently Over Time
Today, grief still walks with me.
But it walks alongside other things too:
- The gift of memories.
- The stories I tell my family and friends.
- The steady presence of God in ordinary days.
Love gives us new strength, new ways to carry what once felt impossible.
And somehow, that is its own kind of healing.
Closing Reflection: You Are Not Doing It Wrong
If you are grieving, no matter how long it has been, please know this:
You are not doing it wrong.
Grief has no timetable.
There is no “getting over” someone you have loved deeply.
But there is learning to carry that love forward.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds.
But love?
Love helps us carry them.
And love — faithful, enduring love — will always have the last word.
Reflection Question:
What has helped you carry your grief in this season of life?