Day 171 - Sexual Intimacy Is Possible Again

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 Sexual Intimacy Is Possible Again Day 171 It is not unusual for profound grief to impact sexual intimacy in a marriage. "With me, it was very hard to go back to a sexual relationship after my parents died," says Sylvia. "My husband could not really understand why this bothered me, but he saw me through it, and we've been married forty-eight years." Your marriage can survive and come out stronger. Persevere in love, and do not let your feelings rule your actions. "The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." (1 Corinthians 7:4-5). Holy God, sexual intimacy just doesn't feel right anymore. Help me to rise above my emotions and move toward Your love. When I move toward You, my love for my spouse will be carefully and securely strengthened again. 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

Day 170 - Grief Can Rob You of Intimacy

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 Grief Can Rob You of Intimacy Day 170 Men and women view intimacy in different ways, and the loss of a child or a loved one will affect the intimacy in your marriage. Shelly, who lost her son, says, "We tried to pull from one another what we needed to be pulling from the Lord. We realized we had to allow ourselves to go our separate ways and deal with the grief and let ourselves be built up from the Source who could really meet that need before we had something to offer each other. Many say that most marriages don't make it through something like this, and it's nice to be a testimony that a marriage can make it through." God alone can meet your needs. Your spouse cannot be expected to meet them. Whenever you are in despair because your spouse is not acting or responding in the way that you think is best, you must be proactive and not reactive. Hold to the "I must change first" principle: "Lord, my spouse is driving me crazy. One of us needs to change. I volunteer. Change me." When you gain your strength from the true Source, you will be better able to build a new intimacy with your spouse. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God…. Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator…. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." (Colossians 3:1, 10, 12-15) Lord, teach me Your love. 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

Day 169 - Grief Can Cause Stress in a Marriage

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 Grief Can Cause Stress in a Marriage Day 169 The loss of a child can create stress in a marital relationship. Choose to persevere and never to give up. Your loss may result in a closer relationship with your spouse. These three people worked through the emotional struggles that caused tension in their marriage, only to come out better on the other side. Dora, speaking of her daughter's death, says, "You'll be here at one point in your grief, and your spouse is over here and the two never meet for months and months. Then all of a sudden when you do meet, you find that you're two different people. And you really have to work to get back on that same level of communication. It's real tough, but in many ways I feel like my husband and I are bonded for life because of our suffering." Jeff, who lost his son, says, "I think it's made our relationship stronger. We communicated so well through the death of our son and after. We've talked more in the last three years than we did in the previous nine or ten." Teresa's daughter died. She says, "When you do lash out, because none of us are perfect, the other spouse has to be mature and say, 'Well, come on, Sweetie, I know this may be an emotional time right now. I know you didn't mean that. I know we're under a lot of emotional strain right now and a lot of adversity, but let's just pull this thing together,' and just immediately grab hands and start praying." Take courage from the testimonies of these couples and focus on God. Even when you are both going in opposite directions, you will surely meet if you keep your eyes on God's plan for your life. "'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate" (Mark 10:7-9). Lord, it is Your will that my spouse and I remain together. Give me the strength to persevere. Now is the time to begin. 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

Day 168 - Your Family Needs Your Support

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 Your Family Needs Your Support Day 168 As difficult as it is, your life must go on. No, you'll never feel the same again, and that hurt place in your heart will never be fully healed on this side of heaven. But the others—your family—they need you to be involved in their everyday lives. They need your help as they journey through grief. "Your family deserves you as a hundred-percent person," says Barbara Johnson, whose two sons died. "They don't deserve only half of you. But so many times parents are so wrapped up in that grief. They keep rotating back to that other time instead of saying, 'Hey, I'm still alive. I have children who need me.' This is a new life. The other chapter is done, but the book goes on." Provide your family with the love, attention, and nurturing they so desperately need from you. "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8). Lord, thank you that as I provide for others, You, in turn, will provide for me. 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

Day 167 - God Relates to Your Loss

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 God Relates to Your Loss Day 167 God's Son died; He was buried; and on the third day He rose again. There is hope because of Jesus. According to Dr. Bill Bright: "God has demonstrated His love for you by personally visiting this planet earth. He left His place of glory, came as a man (the God/man), died on the cross for your sins, and was raised from the dead as a demonstration of His love. "A woman said, 'Where was God when my son was killed during the war?' And a wise, spiritually mature friend said, 'He was where he was when His own Son died on the cross for our sins.' God knows all about your problems. He wants to help you, but in your anger and resentment, and oftentimes hatred, He cannot help you. It is only when you say, 'Oh God, help me,' in a spirit of humility, that He envelops you with His love, forgiveness, and grace." God knows your deepest fears, hurts, and needs. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Oh God, help me. 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

Day 166 - Treasures in Heaven

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 Treasures in Heaven Day 166 The Bible admonishes you to lay up your treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20). But how difficult that is to do when your treasure is an infant child! Dot lost three of her infant children. She says: "At the funeral of our first child, the preacher used the Scripture about not laying up your treasures here on earth. That was always a comfort to know that my children were going to be in heaven. I've found great comfort in the fact that they are not gone; they've just been lifted to a higher plane." God knows your child more intimately than even you do. He created your precious child with the gentlest of hands. God was with your child before he or she was born, and He will tenderly watch over your child forever. "Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16). Heavenly Jesus, bring me words of true comfort today. Thank you that my baby is alive and well with You. 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

Day 165 - Reunited Because of Christ

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 Reunited Because of Christ Day 165 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?"' he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!" He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:19-23) David said with assurance, "I will go to him." David's young child was gone, but he knew with certainty that he would see that child again. He made the important decision to go on living in the meantime. David knew that his son was already in the presence of the living God. If David, who lived in Old Testament times, had this certainty, how much more certain can we be about our own children now that Jesus Christ has come and given us a greater hope? Thank you, Jesus, that you care so much for me and for my child. I want to surrender my sinful life to You, so that I, too, will spend eternity in Your loving presence. 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