Win The Day # 14: One Year Later: What God Has Taught Me Through Losing My Dad

Tomorrow will mark one year since I lost my Dad and when everything changed. Grief has a way of slowing time while the world keeps moving. This past year has held deep sadness, quiet moments, and unexpected reminders of God’s faithfulness. While I would never choose this journey, I can see how God has met me in it.

Here are five lessons He has taught me this year.

1. Grief and Faith Can Coexist

I’ve learned that strong faith does not mean the absence of grief. I can trust God and still miss my dad deeply. Even Jesus wept, knowing resurrection was coming. Grief is not weakness BUT it is love. God has met me in my tears and never once turned away.

2. God Is Near in the Quiet

Loss brings a lot of quiet moments. Early mornings. Long nights. Spaces where memories feel louder. In those moments, God has felt closest. Not always with answers, but with peace. A calm I couldn’t explain. A reminder that I am not walking this road alone.

3. Heaven Feels Personal Now

Heaven is no longer just something I believe in. It is where my dad is. That has changed how I see eternity. I still miss him, but I hold onto the promise that this separation is temporary. Hope feels stronger when someone you love is already there.

4. Time Doesn’t Heal, but God Redeems

Time hasn’t erased the pain, but God has softened it. Some days still hurt. Certain moments still catch me off guard. But God has redeemed the time by turning sorrow into gratitude and pain into compassion. Healing hasn’t meant forgetting BUT it has meant learning how to carry grief with grace.

5. Love Never Leaves

My dad’s love didn’t end when he passed. I see it in the lessons he taught me, the values he lived by, and the way I love others. Love is eternal because it comes from God. Nothing rooted in love is ever lost.

One year later, I still miss my dad deeply, and I always will. I will always love you, Dad. The ache of missing you has not faded, but in the midst of it, my trust in God has grown. This season has strengthened my faith in ways I never expected, teaching me to lean on Him more fully.

God has been faithful every step of the way, even in grief.

If you are walking through loss, know this: God is close. He is gentle. And He is with you.