My GriefShare group started up again last night. They recommend you do it more than once. I missed 4 sessions last fall traveling and one because I was sick, I certainly want to sit in on those, but plan to repeat the whole series. After surviving the holidays I was ready to be in the group again.
It was raining pretty hard and this time it was at a different church. The instructions were to meet in a separate building to the East of the church. There were two and I went to the wrong one first of course! Once I was in the right place I found we had a large crowd. The facilitators opened with how the 13 week sessions work and then we watched a video. Because the group was so big we divided into two groups for discussion. I heard the other group facilitator say that all the people in her group were new. There is just such a large need for this ministry because of losses due to our aging population, illnesses and tragedies.
My group was made up of those who attended the last session, except a mom and aunt who had lost their loved one just before Thanksgiving. The rest of us had lost our loved one in 2017! We are still fresh in our grief and dealing with all the firsts.
Even though the heartbreak is still so fresh for everyone, it was good to see people making progress. This progress is coming even though we all just survived the holidays. We don’t move on, but moving forward is the best way to honor our loved one. I was so glad to see some people that I wasn’t sure would come back. While the sessions are very helpful, it also hard to come and endure the pain of the topics. I feel better when I leave, so it is very much worth it. I know that if you don’t deal with the grief it will deal with you.
Please encourage someone you know to go to http://www.griefshare.org to find a group or to sign up for daily devotionals. Better yet sign up for the devotional yourself so that you can have a better understanding of what they are going through. The Bible is so rich with verses of comfort, and you will find it as it relates to all the emotions of grief in these devotionals.
Father, I thank you for the people who chose to take their grief and create GriefShare. Those willing to share on the videos so that we see we are not alone, we aren’t crazy and everything we are going through is normal. Thank you for people who dedicate their lives professionally to counseling, as well as those who just love others enough to give of their time for these 13 weeks. Thank you for showing us through your word that You are there to comfort us, to remind us that You willingly suffered the loss of Your Son, Jesus, so that we have eternity with You and our loved ones. Amen
Grace Under Pressure 
So proud of you Tammie…. and I love that you want to help others as you navigate this very personal process. God Bless All that travel this journey with you.
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