Grief (for 365 days)

I am working on finishing up a project with 365 daily readings for folks in grief. This does not necessarily mean people going through the loss of a loved one, but can include loss of ability due to illness, grief after a divorce, or any time one is healing after a loss.

I have written large parts of the book, but it mainly consists of daily quotations from others. I am writing this to cast the net wide before wrapping up the project. Does anyone have quotes short or long that have helped in times of grief? Below is Day 6 of the 365 day project to give you an example.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor

"He that conceals his grief finds no remedy for it."
~Turkish Proverb

"Every one can master a grief but he that has it."
~William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
~Jesus (Matthew 5:4)

It’s all right to cry. What are you saving your tears for if not for this? It’s also all right to laugh and enjoy yourself when you can. Just because you laugh or have some fun, does not mean that your loss is any less real. Grief has lots of ups and downs. When you are feeling a little better, nourish that feeling, don’t fight it out of a misplaced sense of guilt. Both laughter and tears are gifts, receive them as such and be blessed. Fight back the tears, hold back the laughter and you hold back the healing they can bring over time.

Grief

God heals through time. It’s true: time heals. The loss of a loved one is a kind of emotional amputation. A real part of you is gone, and it is hard to get used to that idea. We have read of people, for example, who have had a leg amputated, but still feel an itch in the foot that is no longer there. The brain has not adapted to the fact that the leg and foot are gone. In time, the brain does seem to adapt, but this does not occur immediately. It is a slow process; it takes time. In like manner, the emotional amputation in the grief process takes time.

A key to understanding the grief process is to remember that grief is a journey, a pilgrimage—something we “pass through.” The psalmist spoke of “going through the valley of the shadow.” Jesus spoke of the strength that comes from “going through mourning.” Grief is a journey, and it takes time to make the pilgrimage.”

—James W. Moore, When Grief Breaks Your Heart