America the beautiful, the home of the brave and filled with people with stories to share

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.Psalm 16:1

From every walk of life, people came to America. Some came to escape the repressive regimes of their home country, a place that may have forbidden them to worship the way they want. Others came to escape the horrendous treatment when they didn't fit the norm of what their society back home felt they must have to be considered 'elite'. Some came to our shore to escape the murderous atrocities of their home land when some leader gets the idea to begin an ethnic cleansing campaign to rid their land of undesirables. 

People who come to America have stories to share-some good, some very painful.  It is the painful stories that tend to get depressed.  Look around every town in America you will find places where strong doses of alcohol are sold, a place where men will go to 'take the edge' off them when the pain of their stories become impossible to cope without downing a strong glass of whiskey tonic. Even today, young people have gravitated to this source of elixir as a way of calming them in the face of their own painful stories.   

In the book entitled, 'You are not alone',  Teens talk about life after the loss of a parent', teens share with Author Lynne B. Huges who herself lost her mom and dad when she was in early and mid elementary school years. These teens shared some of their observations on what they wished they had known about grief.  The lessons these teens learn can also apply to all other forms of grief. Many of these kids lost their parents in the 9/11 attacks. Here are some of those observations.  Lynne changed the identity of these kids by giving them pseudo names.

"These emotions are normal, grief is normal"---------------------- Phillip

"It's Okay to cry. It doesn't mean you are weak--It means you are strong when you cry....Suzanne

"It's okay not to be the strong one. I am the oldest child in my family and I thought I had to be strong for my dad and sisters, but what I really needed was to cry and grieve myself, not to be rock. When I finally was able to have a good cry and look at pictures of my mom, I really benefitted.----Matt

"Grief is tiring and stressful, you don't even know what to do. Sometimes change is good after losing a loved one. Not everyone knows what to do or say to you, so sometimes they just stare. You will probably lose friends, but sometimes friendships just get stronger. Those are all the things I wished someone had told me---------------------------Hilary

"I wished someone had told me that when someone dies, time doesn't stop. I really thought the world would stop when he died. But I just kept right on going without him here. And when I finally woke up from the loss I was living in, I was amazed  to see how much I had missed."------Cassie

"I guess mainly I wished someone had let me know that wasn't alone."--------------Mary

"I wished that someone had told me it would always be difficult for me when people first found out about my dad's death. They never knew what to say. I always end up half comforting them---Katie

"Kids' grieve differently than teens, and teens grieve differently from adults. No one way is right or wrong. Pretty much everything you feel is normal and okay.-----Lora

"It never gets better, just vaguely easier"---------------------Jesse

Regardless of the timeline, grief is a difficult subject to tackle. We're taught to bury our grief and stay busy, but every once in a while those painful memories make their ugly appearance. Alcohol and drug use become the primary coping mechanism when faced with those awful memories.

God truly understand's our pain when He sent Jesus, his son, to die for all of us. Jesus's death on the cross was a traumatic one with nail holes in his hands and feet to prove it. There was an observable pain on the faces of the bystanders who cringe with each blow of the hammer until Jesus took his final breath after uttering those words, "it is finished."  

God did one better when He raised Jesus from the dead to show that through Jesus's blood sacrifice God was opening up the door for all to find comfort---and the assurance that our physical death isn't the end, but there was something far greater in store when their life's purpose was completed.

So, go ahead and embrace your story and don't be afraid to share it. 

Every time you share your story, healing takes place.