Grief can be like drowning in the ocean. All you can think about is whether or not you will survive. And if I do survive, how will this loss impact my life?
When you’re in the middle of grief, it feels like you’re stuck in a dark tunnel without a light at the other end. Even though it feels like it, grief is not a weakness or a lack of faith. It takes you to unfamiliar places and makes you feel like you will live there forever.
The truth is, however, grief is only a passage.
It’s impossible to avoid grief in our lifetime but if we understand there is a purpose for the grief we can endure the process. I have discovered that grief gives me the reason to go higher and to dig deeper.
If we make grief a passage rather than a permanent place to live we will enjoy the fruit of it, one of which is compassion. Out of our own grief, we can begin to empathize with others. It helps us to remember our own experiences with grief so we can support and encourage others as they go through it too. Grief will not last forever, although it may endure for a time, and you will be stronger because of it.
We often grieve deeply for what might have been.
Wishing for what might have been can keep you frozen in time and cause regret. We need to let hope speak louder than grief and remind us to be grateful for what is. In order to do this, we have to live in the moment.
The problem is that grief keeps us from living in the moment. In our grief, we’re stuck in the past or somewhere in the future.Too often we’re looking back or looking forward and in that place, we cannot see what is. When we can tap into hope and be grateful for what is, the longing for what might have been will blur in time.
There are no shortcuts to dealing with grief but we must remember that it is only a passage. The road may seem dark and unending but one day, you will reach the end. One day, hope will return and you can use the compassion and empathy you’ve gained from your grief to help others.
Has your own grief helped you support others in their experience with it?
