Do You Miss Your Old Life? A Prayer for Grief and Change
Have you ever looked back at an old photograph and felt a sudden ache for the person you used to be? Grief isn’t always connected to death. Sometimes we grieve our health, a relationship, a former home, our childhood, an old dream, or the version of ourselves that existed before illness, heartbreak, trauma, or disappointment changed life. Missing what was can leave us caught between a past we can’t return to and a present we never expected.
In this Your Nightly Prayer devotional, Amber Ginter shares honestly about the dramatic health changes she experienced after college and the ongoing process of learning to live in a body and life different from the one she once knew. Ecclesiastes 3:4 reminds us that there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Scripture makes room for grief. God does not require us to fake happiness, suppress painful emotions, or pretend difficult circumstances don’t hurt in order to demonstrate genuine faith.
If you’re grieving your old life, missing someone you’ve lost, struggling with chronic illness, facing an unwanted transition, or simply longing for the person you were before something painful happened, this devotional offers permission to bring those emotions honestly before God. Living in a broken world means some losses cannot be neatly explained, and trusting God does not require calling every painful circumstance good. Instead, we can trust that He remains present within our suffering and can bring redemption and purpose even from experiences we would never have chosen.
Tonight, allow yourself to name what you miss without shame. Tell Jesus what changed, what still hurts, and where you struggle to trust Him with the life you have now. There is a time to mourn, and you do not have to rush through it. Ask God to comfort you in the tension between what was and what is, and to give you hope for the story He is still writing—even when today’s chapter looks nothing like the one you expected.
Originally published September 14, 2026.
