The Nativity of Loss and Grief
Does it seem your grief is unnoticed? Is there only a rare visitor? Has isolation robbed you of the normal social and emotional support you need? If Angels could guide shepherds and a star could direct wise men, then I hope you can trust God knows how to send comfort and support to you.
A New Look at Compassion
With enormous numbers of people dying daily, I am tempted to feel numb and hear only a number. I must stop! I must listen with the capacity to translate a number into people with names! I must go further and grasp in my bowels that each person has a family and friends who are now suffering. I must let compassion move me towards action.
Christmas ~ A Good Time to Grieve
On the one hand, Christmas is about trees and lights, food and shopping, gifts and secrets, concerts and parties, and jingling bells with loud “Happy Holidays” greetings. As mourners, many of us find ourselves among the poorest of the poor as if characters from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Holiday PYSOP!
Find a pen and paper. Allow your real, honest, and true self to spill out on the lines. Fill the page with what you are really feeling and thinking. Now that you have a broken heart, there is no need to pretend. Let the pen release your deepest pain.
Your Defining Moment In Spite of Holiday Grief
By understanding our phase in grief, we can make better plans that will help us honor our loved ones and grief their absence with healthier outcomes.
Isn’t Thanksgiving Grief an Oxymoron?
4 Options that can get you through the holiday. 1. be open to gratitude and list small things you are thankful for. 2. Live in the present moment. 3. Make a plan to honor your loved one. 4. Accept and give love.
When Grief and Gratitude Co-Mingle
To my friends who mourn during this season of giving thanks, I give you space to do so. I give you the freedom to grieve. I offer you support in your bereavement. The crazy paradox of what you are experiencing and what others are celebrating may feel like knives stabbing the already shredded parts of your heart.
How to live through the Fall Season of Grief
Sometimes just knowing that grief has its seasons helps. It’s like gathering a little blanket of comfort and hope
A Griever's Lament ~ God's Response
I am told to take life one step at a time, but it is so dark, I can’t see the chasms to my right or left and I am afraid to move forward. It feels like each day I am stumbling in the dark, which leaves my emotions bruised and battered. When sorrow is my constant companion, how am I to wake up and enter into the activities of “normal” people?
Who are We Really Mad at in Grief?
We can often feel mad at the person who died. This is confusing and normal. Find out how to turn this irrational thought into a rational one.
An Open Letter to a Grieving Friend
Dear grieving friend, we commit to being here with you, no matter if you get angry, depressed, close us out, or just need us to sit in silence with you. We are here for you through the long haul.
Comforting in a COVID World
When we feel too busy to stay in touch with a grieving friend, these 4 ideas might help.
Resilient Grieving in a COVID World
Learn to practice self-hugs, pillow hugs, and auditory/visual hugs during the difficult and lonely days of isolated grief.
How to “BE THERE” for a Grieving Friend
“Being There” for a grieving friend is less intimidating than you think. Discover 6 ways you can “Be There.”
Grief Like a Train
Grieving well means taking back control in our lives. One of the best places to start is with ourselves.
How to Support The Mourning Man Next Door
Partnering with a grieving friend is sacred work. Wise comforting friends take it one day at a time with them. The needs of the grieving change, making our flexibility our best response.
Does Pain have a Purpose in My Grief?
Pain in our broken hearts is not bad. It has a purpose. When we pay attention to the pain and let it be our healing guide, the result is much better than if we run, numb, or resist it.
An Empty Chair, or Not
Without their son, Robbie, how could they step into Thanksgiving and survive? This year would be different, just the closest of their family was gathering. She was asked only to set the table. The rest of the family would bring the traditional menu. Right now, she is sure that making gravy would have been easier on her than setting the table. Robbie would not be sitting with them. What should she do? Set his place or not. The tears wouldn’t stop.
Authenticity, The ONE Big Key to Comforting Others
Be okay with their silence as they are searching for vocabulary to express the inexpressible. Her silence is not your cue to fill the space with your story, ideas or words.