Day 182 - Children in Grief May Act Out Their Hurt

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 May Act Out Their Hurt Day 182 Your children may surprise you by the misbehavior they display while grieving. But you need to remember the source of their misbehavior: They feel hurt and do not know what to do with that feeling. Shelly, whose son passed away, talks about the response of her other son: "He was the passive child between two demanding children. He often didn't express himself and held everything inside. So it was so out of character for him to rise up with anger and to put holes in the walls and to be so frustrated in the way that he was. "After seeking God, what I felt in my heart was that it was his survival he was going through. He was dealing with pain so deep, and he was too young to understand that death is a permanent thing. It's something you can't change; you can't go back; there's no way to rectify what has happened. You just have to accept it. That was so hard for him to deal with. It's almost like he came out fighting. "And when we were able to accept that this was a part of the process that he had to go through and just cover it in love, we removed some of the stressors in his life, and we allowed him that time." You still have to be the parent, and your children need you to continue to communicate clear boundaries to them. But choose the issues that you want to address. Over everything else give them oceans of love and grace. "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him" (Psalm 103:13). Lord, show me how to be there for my child. Show me how to remove the stressors in his or her life, and open the flow of love and understanding between us. 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