Comfort for the Day

– 5 – Comfort for Your Emotional Grief “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me … You perceive my thoughts from afar.” Psalm 139:1–2 NKJV W hat a comfort to remember that our God knows us each individually. Just as each of us is unique, so will be our pain. No two grief experiences are alike. Several emotional phases of recovery will be part of your experience. Knowing what the different experiences could be for you will give you relief as you pass through them, often many times over. Generally, most people who are experiencing grief focus on the loss, experience a season of depression, followed by hope, and eventually adjustment. A hospital chaplain, once told me, “Grieve when you grieve, and when you don’t grieve, don’t grieve.” Sounds simple! But accepting our varied emotions and feelings during the seasons of grief can be a difficult task. Seasons of Grief It might be helpful to know that many words are used to describe the experiences of grieving. I refer to them as seasons. May I remind you that just as seasons are interrupted with brief unexpected interludes of diverse weather patterns; likewise, our grieving is even less predictable. However, knowing what others have experienced can help diminish the fear we may feel when emotional storms assail. Here is a list of emotional experiences I have compiled. You may or may not experience all of these, but when you do, please be assured that these are only grief’s seasons and they will pass. Shock Numbness Despair Denial Panic Blame Hurt Depression Loneliness