Comfort- Coping with Grief

A landing page to discuss comfort during loss/grief. The “parent” of a series of pages for family/friends to celebrate the memories of those who have passed. 

Grief? Peculiar. Comfort? Varied.

Though we may grieve or be down-cast, we have a God who is compassionate and will comfort us. What does comfort mean? Each one of us may have different views. Handling loss is so varied because we are each unique. Coping skills are important. With our loved ones gone, the memory of them lingers in our hearts. Grief can be a hard cross to bear, but we can be sure that we have a High Priest who is with us every step of the way. The Holy Spirit can act as a comforter.

Sometimes we may suffer with distressing emotions. Maybe we even regret past actions. How can we move past those negative conscious thoughts? I wrote the following sometime after my mother passed.

Regret (Can’t Compare to Hope)

Have we all lost someone,
whether a friend or family member?
And felt the kind of pain
that leaves a flame and not an ember?

Grief is hard when mixed with regret.
Solace, also fleeting.
Scant comfort is found,
when days crawl by with weeping.

Holding on to self-bitterness
will only hurt us more.
Causing that ache inside
to no longer be ignored.

Lessons Bite.
Not soon are they out of mind.
Find peace in forgiveness,
for it is so designed.

“We are both learning,”
my mother once said.
She didn’t hold my faults against me
but was gracious to the end.

Be kind to yourself.
Respectful, filled with love.
Do not lose sight of hope
You’ll soon see that it’s enough.

©Kari L. Greenaway

 

Comfort from grief- Found through the Holy Spirit: silhouette of Kneeling man with head bowed and hands clasped. 

I dealt with so much depression after her passing. This came in the form of lots of crying, lack of self-care, sleeping, self-hatred. She passed 12/2018. I spent 2 years beating myself up. And I am a Christian. Where was my comfort during that time?

I realized I had other foundational issues. I never really loved myself. Yes, I appreciated my skills and took pride in them, but to love others, one must love God and love oneself. That is food for another article, but, let me say this as I have heard it before. God doesn’t make “junk.” We are one-of-a-kind and precious.

Do you realize that there are people you don’t even know, praying for you? That Jesus is rooting for you? Be gentle with yourself. Yes, it’s important to esteem/have a high regard for others more than ourselves, but not so much that we get lost in the process.

I am thankful for the Gospel message. There is more to living than our time here on earth. Death doesn’t have the victory!

Our God wishes that none of us perish, no, not one, but finds true life in His one and only Son. If you do not know Jesus, please feel free to contact me.

Poetry for loved ones or a Page for your loved one.

I do write custom poetry, and if you have some memories of a loved one you would like to put to poetry, I would be honored to do that for you. If you would like a family member page or the custom poem, please contact me by email or social media. The fee is a sliding scale one. Maybe you know someone who has lost a loved one and would benefit from a poem. Please share our information so that I might offer them some comfort.

If you have a family member page: Select the family member you would like to view from the drop-down list.