There is no right or wrong way to grieve, but this we know for sure which is that grief is a journey that is as unique as the love for the one who died

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captivesand release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favorand the day of vengeance of our God, Isaiah 61:1b-2

I was at a work training the other day when one of the trainers made reference to grief by saying 'in her own family when someone dies it is a time of celebration when they party all night for that person' This may not necessarily be the exact quote, but close.  The person who said this was young, and I'm speculating, hasn't had enough life experience to truly know what grief 'feels' if the one who died was her child, her close sibling, or her spouse.


As I prepare for tonight's 3rd Grief Share session, I was reminded that grief is a journey that can take anywhere from 5-10 years to recover from before one feels any sense of normalcy. This perception of grief contrasts with most Americans who feel the need to rush through the grief recovery process and bury any remaining residuals of emotions in a steel vault and get back to life.


This is a dangerous thing to do because our grief is like the waves of an ocean when some may hit you like a thunderous roar with ambushes of the one who died or insomnia when the lingering memories prevent you from sleeping through the night. If we can learn anything from our Veteran's returning home with PTSD it is our grief cannot be ignored.   https://www.va.gov/health/NewsFeatures/20120920a.asp


According to Dr. Susan Zonderbelt-Smeenge, " there are no shortcuts to grieving. We're going through the pain in order to heal because pain does heal."  The late Zig Ziglar reminds us that "grief is the price you pay for loving someone."  For many who decide to rush their grief only makes them susceptible to the indulgence of alcohol consumption- in fact, many who enter our chemical dependency programs like Teen Challenge enter because of some unresolved grief in their past   https://gabrielsonjournal.blogspot.com/2012/05/unresolved-grief-and-chemical.html


The comments made by the speaker I heard reminds us that there are people that have the wrong perception about grief and why it is important for those who are experiencing traumatic grief to seek out 'trusted' listeners who will not judge you or rush your own grief with silly comments like "you should be over it now!"


Since you wouldn't consider going on a long hiking trip without the essentials like your water bottle, good hiking boots, a hat to protect you from the sun, why would you even consider terminating your grief recovery process prematurely and relying on alcohol instead to numb your pain?

The good news is we can confidently rely on our Faith in God to help us on our journey. In Isaiah 61: 1b-2 we are reminded of this promise:

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

If you picture in your mind our Lord Jesus walking side by side you as you travel the often painful and rocky road of grief, sometimes picking you up when the path becomes especially painful to travel on, you will begin to see how much Jesus truly cares for the pain you are facing.

I would encourage everyone who is grieving a loss to consider GriefShare by going to this link and finding a GriefShare group near you:https://www.griefshare.org/