Oscar and Eleanor lived on a farm in the valley next to the river. As children we spent many wonderful times with this childless couple. They spoiled us with birthday and holiday gifts. I watched Oscar milk cows and fed them grain. Eleanor let me help her make chocolate cake or bake bread in her wood cook stove.
Read More
People who commit suicide are very selfish people. They do not inflict their own pain. They inflict pain on their innocent family and friends they leave behind–the ones that are capable of caring and loving unselfishly. Nobody deserves that much pain. We might have all said this at one time or another, ?I?m going to kill myself,? or ?I might as well be dead, no one will care.? We might have all thought it from one time or another. I admit that I have said it and contemplated it.
Read More
1) Don’t try to make the grieving person feel better. YOU CANNOT. For many grievers it only serves to make them feel guilty or worse. Grievers MUST experience the pain of grief for healing to ultimately occur. 2) Don’t tell the griever to give it time. Time has stopped for the griever. Life proceeds in slow motion. Life is too surreal to be identified with time.
Read More
1) Don’t try to make the grieving person feel better. YOU CANNOT. For many grievers it only serves to make them feel guilty or worse. Grievers MUST experience the pain of grief for healing to ultimately occur. 2) Don’t tell the griever to give it time. Time has stopped for the griever. Life proceeds in slow motion. Life is too surreal to be identified with time.
Read More
1) Don?t try to make the grieving person feel better. YOU CANNOT. For many grievers it only serves to make them feel guilty or worse. Grievers MUST experience the pain of grief for healing to ultimately occur. 2) Don?t tell the griever to give it time. Time has stopped for the griever. Life proceeds in slow motion. Life is too surreal to be identified with time.
Read More
“Then [I] dreamed…” (Genesis 28:12). About four months after our son died I wrote a booklet titled GRIEF. Two years later I received a letter from a publisher accepting it and saying they felt it would help many grieving people. What I remember about the afternoon I received the letter was a dream. I never took naps then; I worked part-time and was very active. But that afternoon our precious God put me to sleep and gave me a gift. I want to share this dream, for it convinced me that God does indeed communicate with us through visions.
Read More
If you’re going through anticipatory grief you’ve probably heard of “grief work.” Health professionals may use the term without explaining it. Anticipatory grief is so draining and confusing you may not have a clear picture of your grief work. What is it? How can you accomplish it? “Grief work includes the processes that a mourner needs to complete before resuming daily processes,” according to The National Cancer Institute. This grief work includes mentally separating from the person who has died, adjusting to a different life, and forming new relationships.
Read More
I can’t imagine a more difficult or trying period: coping with the death of a loved one. This is especially true when they are relatively young or not showing a sign of a previous illness or disease. Auto accident victims immediately come to mind because of their proliferation. But there are other ways and means to cut short a life. Yet, does it really matter in the end? The result is that friends, relatives, and other associates remain here on earth to deal with the tragedy. I feel somewhat qualified to write about this because it happened to me twice.
Read More
I can?t imagine a more difficult or trying period: coping with the death of a loved one. This is especially true when they are relatively young or not showing a sign of a previous illness or disease. Auto accident victims immediately come to mind because of their proliferation. But there are other ways and means to cut short a life. Yet, does it really matter in the end? The result is that friends, relatives, and other associates remain here on earth to deal with the tragedy. I feel somewhat qualified to write about this because it happened to me twice.
Read More
I would like to share with you a beautiful song that is comforting to the soul and powerful enough to heal the grief-stricken. My wife, Bobbie, brought this song to my attention one day in 1998. It was a year before Bobbie was diagnosed with what would later be terminal cancer. Sixteen months later, she passed away. I was torn to pieces. Since then, this song has meant more to me than any other song I?ve heard. It is very special to my heart and soul, because Bobbie introduced it to me. It reflects all my emotion, when I think […]
Read More
Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.
