Posts Tagged With: Family

http://bible.com/59/php.2.14-16.ESV

After going through grief or loss, you will eventually have a keen awareness to see and understand how precious life and loved ones are…and an excellent opportunity to develop true genuine thankfulness.

One day, while I was on a social networking site, I noticed many people who were complaining. I wrote the following as a way of putting my thoughts into words.

“For every parent complaining about their kids…there’s someone who is begging God to bless them with a baby…and someone else who would give up EVERYTHING to have a ticket to Heaven to see their child for 5 minutes.
For every person griping about their spouse, there is someone crying themselves to sleep over the empty space next to them in bed.
For everyone who complains about their parents, there is someone who would LOVE to ask their parents for just one more piece of advice.
For every person who complains about having to exercise, there is someone who is sick or disabled who would absolutely love to have the ability to walk even a 1/4 of a mile.”

There is SO much in life to be grateful for but we have to practice the art of thankfulness and keep our eyes open to truly see our blessings.

At times, it is very difficult to see our blessings, or even be thankful, if we are overwhelmed by deep heartbreaking grief. At those times, we need to train our minds to think like this: “Don’t focus on what you don’t have or what you can’t do…focus on who you DO have and what you CAN do!”

This is definitely a wise thing to ask God for help with every single day.

Change your PERSPECTIVE and choose to trust God through your hardships.
It is a choice to see God’s current blessings in our lives, as well as learn what lessons He has allowed us to take away from our grief experiences. One of my greatest lessons has been to continue being grateful for everything, especially my loved ones, always giving thanks, because the Lord is very very good.

From my daily reading plan by Bible App
Grief Bites: A New Approach to Growing Through Grief (day 34)

http://bible.com/59/eph.5.15-17.ESV

One of the toughest parts of grief is being caught between 2 worlds…your old life and the new life that awaits you.

There is so much pressure placed on the bereaved to “get over it” or “get on with life” by well meaning family and friends, usually due to seeing someone they care about being unhappy.
If you’ve lost a loved one who meant the world to you, you know that “getting over it” doesn’t happen.

But you can learn how to live life fully again and even truly love and enjoy it…but it does take time.

To avoid the pitfalls of further grief or loss, my advice is to learn to “Be in the moment.”

Although grief hurts very badly, strive to live life to the best of your ability and enjoy your loved ones who are still here. This can be challenging and difficult to do when grief is fresh but you’ll be very grateful you did.
When my older sister’s fiancé died, she made the decision to spend time with family and to live life as best as she could. It was only a short 3 weeks later that our oldest sister suddenly died on Thanksgiving Day.

The other day, my sister was sharing with me how glad she was that she had made the decision to spend time with our oldest sister so she didn’t have further regret.

Today, even if you don’t feel like it, spend time with those you love best. It may take baby steps to get back into fully living life, but you will be able to look back one day and be grateful you did.

Take the time you need and grieve how you need to grieve, but never feel guilty for living, loving, and enjoying life again once you are ready. Your loved one would truly want nothing more for you. They delighted in your happiness while they were alive, and they would still want for you to enjoy life now, even though they are no longer here.

It can be very sad to make new memories without your loved one…you can almost feel guilty…but if you have loved ones who are still in your life, please redeem the time with them as best as you can. We never know what can happen on any given day, but it is wise to always be in the moment God has blessed you with…right here, right now.

It may take time, and may even be difficult at first, but take baby steps today back into enjoying life and your remaining loved ones. Ask God to show you how to create a “new normal” so you can fulfill His will for your life. You will not regret it.

From my daily reading plan by Bible App
Grief Bites: A New Approach to Growing Through Grief ( day 33 )