Day 235 - Resuming Life

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Resuming Life Day 235 When a loved one dies, the week of the funeral is usually very busy. It is filled with details and obligations and visits from friends. But in the weeks and months that follow, if you are honest, you may be surprised to see those around you resuming their normal, everyday lives. You may feel, "How could they?" Yet you know this is natural. Life does go on, but you may wonder how you will ever be part of that life again. You cannot merely "turn off" your grief; you will carry a part of that grief with you always. But as you walk through your grief journey, you must take conscious steps forward each day. Jodie, whose husband died, says, "I got tired of getting up the next morning with puffy eyes and all of that, and I thought, You know, there's got to be an end to this. But all I could do was just keep asking the Lord, 'Lord please just help me get over this. Please just get me to a point where I can handle it.' "Slowly I got better. But every once in a while the feelings will come, and I just know that the Lord collects those tears, and they're special to Him. Just cry out to the Lord because He's the healer." Let the Scriptures motivate you to press on forward. "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained" (Philippians 3:14-16). Lord Jesus, guide me in Your Word and show me what You want me do today. Empower me with Your Spirit to live. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755