Day 172 - Growing Closer to Your Spouse

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 Growing Closer to Your Spouse Day 172 Sometimes when a couple loses a child, they react to their confusing emotions by targeting each other. As a result, they begin to grow apart Quinton and Teresa experienced the death of their daughter. They offer a few suggestions to help you and your spouse grow closer during this time. Come together each day and apologize for anything you may have said or done to hurt the other person in the past twenty-four hours. If you do not apologize right away for the small things, they can become magnified in the other person's eyes and the gap between you will grow. Be the first person to give in if there is a disagreement. You do not have to agree with the other person's view, but acknowledge the parts you do agree with and apologize for any harsh or judgmental words that you said. Pray together daily, whether you feel like it or not. Say something encouraging to your spouse each day. Reflect on the good times together. Be sensitive to the other person's feelings and needs, which may be different from your own. Do not isolate yourself from your spouse. Attend a Bible study together. Ephesians 5 offers this advice for husbands and wives: "Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another. Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ…. Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting" (21-22, 25 msg). Dear Lord, sometimes I feel that the gap between my spouse and me is growing larger each day. Please help us to come together again. 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