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. Don't want these daily emails? Unsubscribe. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755