Day 150 - Anticipatory Grief Not Understood

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 Anticipatory Grief Not Understood Day 150 Your spouse may have experienced a long illness before his or her death. As a result, this "anticipatory grief" enabled you to achieve a level of grieving beforehand. This doesn't mean you will be exempt from grief and pain when your loved one dies—actually, you might be amazed at how much grieving you will still need to do. Anticipatory grief doesn't make grieving easier, but it can shorten the process for some people. As a result of anticipatory grief, you may be ready to build a new relationship earlier than others think is appropriate. Dr. H. Norman Wright says: "A lot of the grieving will occur during a time of sickness and decline. You will experience it together and maybe with other friends. After that grieving, it can take less time to get through the grieving process. So, at six months or eight months, a remaining spouse may begin looking around and wanting to build a new relationship, and other people may become judgmental. "When somebody starts dating six months or so later and even marries within a year, it doesn't mean that they did not have a good relationship. There is a lot of anticipatory grief that goes on." Let God's words encourage you: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12). Oh Lord, when people judge and misunderstand me, it hurts so much. But I don't want to live my life to please them; I want to live my life to please You. May my words, thoughts, and decisions be pleasing to You today. In Jesus' name, 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