Day 254 - Feeling Guilty About Being Happy

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 Feeling Guilty About Being Happy Day 254 Guilt is subtle and insidious. Guilt whispers that you should continually grieve and that it would be wrong for you to enjoy life even just a little. It will perch on your shoulder and chant, "You should feel good about feeling bad. This is your life. This is your lot." The reality, however, is that you should enjoy life more fully because you have grieved. "Finally the day does come when you do begin to feel better," says Dr. Ray Pritchard. "That is the grace of God. Then you begin to feel guilty. That is normal too. Don't give in to that feeling of guilt." Thank God for His saving grace. Then immerse yourself in God's Word and use it to strike down guilt when it starts whispering in your ear. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). Lord Jesus, sometimes I feel like I'm betraying my loved one because I'm starting to feel better. Help me to truly understand how wrong these thoughts are, and help me to stand firm in the power of Your Word. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. 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