Day 181 - Children in Grief Need Unconditional Love

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 Children in Grief Need Unconditional Love Day 181 Children need special attention when they grieve because they are not equipped with the emotional maturity of adults. Their world has fallen apart, and what they need most of all is the assurance of your unconditional love. "There wasn't anybody to help me when my dad died," says Barbara Johnson. "I had a mother and a sister, but everyone was so busy. I went through my teenage years by myself without a whole lot of help. I did pay a price for that because emotionally I needed some help, and I needed comforting. "For other parents who have lost a child: Remember, the other siblings are hurting too. Reach out to these kids and unconditionally love them—just love these kids right where they are and let them know that love is the healing factor and that they're not to blame. Sometimes children have a tendency to blame themselves if there's an accident or a tragedy. But I think we have to put the blame aside and just show a lot of love and a lot of understanding." Do not put this off. Go to your other children right now and tell them how much you love them. Look them in the eyes; hold them in your arms, and just love. God loves you and calls you His child. Now pass that love on to your children. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1). Forgive me, Father, for neglecting to comfort the hurt and pain that my other children are feeling. Comfort me as I comfort them. 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