Day 230 - Release Your Emotions

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 Release Your Emotions Day 230 Barbara Johnson shares practical advice that she had once given to a woman who could not stop crying because of grief. Her plan involves accelerating your emotions by releasing them for a set time each day. She says, "This woman worked at a department store, and she was selling clothes. And she was crying all over the clothes. She said, 'I just can't stop crying. I'm just crying all the time.' "I said, 'Well, go into your room and be sure you're home alone. Turn on some sad music. Lock the door. And then just pound the pillow and cry and grieve and let the emotions out. Set a timer for thirty minutes. Then every day lessen the timer one minute. By the end of thirty days you will have exhausted yourself with all this crying.' "She called me after about a week and she said, 'Barbara, that really worked. I mean, I've only done it a week, and I can even work all day at the store and I don't even cry on the clothes anymore.' "So, it does help when you can ventilate and drain some of that abscess and pain out. See, tears are a good escape. I think God sent us tears as an escape measure. We need to cry." Release your tears for a time, but learn to compose yourself for other times. "This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you" (2 Kings 20:5). Sometimes, Lord, I just have to cry. 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