Tag Archive | family relationships

An Important Thing To Remember During Grief

Grief is such an incredibly hard experience to go through. When a person loses a much treasured loved one, it can feel as though they lost their entire world.

Grief can bring a lot of surprises – I’ll be writing a blog post on this later – and one of those surprises is extreme stress on relationships.

This blog post will hopefully prevent damage to relationships — whether it’s between spouses, parent/child, family relationships, or friendships.

The topic is grief – specifically allowing each other to grieve in our/their own unique way. Just as we each have our own individual fingerprint and DNA…grieving is no different. No two people will grieve exactly the same.

When grieving as a family, it’s very important to remember each person will grieve in their own unique way, too.

Some will cry; some may not.

Some will desire to have a support system; others may wish to grieve primarily alone.

Some may enjoy reminiscing or looking at photos/home videos; others may presently find this to be far too painful.

Some may want to talk about their loved one; others may require time to be able to do that.

Allow each person to grieve in the way that best soothes their heart.

Accept family members for where they are in their grief process.

The most important thing is to openly communicate with one other, as you respect and care about each other’s hearts and needs.

Never make a loved one feel alone. Be there for one another and use this heartbreaking time to grow closer together. Empathy is key…each family member putting themselves in each other’s “shoes” — and caring about each other in the way they each need.

The enemy tries to tear loved ones apart during grief. Don’t fall for that Be there for one another. Too many get tied up into the folly of thinking loved ones should grieve exactly like them. Frustration and hurt…even eventually bitterness…can form when we assume or expect others to grieve in the same or similar way we do.

Grief is excruciatingly hard work. It is so unique and individual…totally not a cookie-cutter experience. Each person will need to ponder how to best walk through their journey…while also encouraging, loving, and supporting their loved ones who are also navigating grief.

Think of it this way: if you and your family members were all of a sudden dropped from a helicopter into uncharted territory, you’d stick together. It’s what would be best for survival. But…each person would have a different role. Same situation. Different emotions, perception, thoughts, ideas, and experience. Sometimes, you’ll go off individually to gather perhaps wood…food…water…but you come back together to help each other and best survive. Sometimes, discussions are needed; sometimes solitude. Sometimes, just support and encouragement are needed. Be empathetic, kind, thoughtful, and caring towards each other…and look for ways to help each other survive.

A good rule of thumb is this: As long as someone isn’t hurting God’s heart, a loved one’s heart, or their own heart/self…their grief is totally appropriate.

When you’re feeling heartbroken or stressed during grief, going to God to talk and share your heart and thoughts is vital, too. He already knows all of the details of the grief event…all that you are going through…all of the thoughts, emotions, conflicts, needs, worries, and struggles…and He loves and cares about us so very much. God is there 24/7…He is the best healer of our hurts and hearts. God already has a plan for how He will not only help us to survive…but to gain out of the heartache. God is the ultimate GPS when we land in the unchartered territory of grief.

Grief is a much easier burden to carry when shared with God, the people we love, and the people who love us best. Some may need to pour their heart out as they process their grief. For some, no words are necessary…in fact, they prefer not to talk about it much until they can come to terms with their heartache.

Tears – and hugs – are also a complete sentence and explanation when we choose to simply be there for one another.

Whatever is most comfortable, just let each other “breathe” and let one another know that you care about each other…that you’re there for each other during this incredibly hard time…and that you support one another’s individual grieving style.

You’ll make it through this…together.

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❤️If you were encouraged by this post, please feel free to share it to encourage others!

⭐️For more encouragement:

❤️Making peace with God: http://www.peacewithgod.net

❤️Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You (Kim’s book):

•$3.19 eBook: https://tinyurl.com/CB-ebook-version

•Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/Barnes-and-Noble-book

•Amazon Books: https://tinyurl.com/y9svptsa

•Walmart: https://tinyurl.com/yckuuohr

❤️Connect on Facebook by “liking” page: https://www.facebook.com/GettingYourBreathBackAfterGrief

❤️Kim’s blog: https://www.griefbites.com

❤️FREE YouVersion reading plans:

1. Grief Bites: Finding Treasure In Hardships: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/912-grief-bites-finding-treasure-in-hardships

2. Grief Bites: Doubt Revealed: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/954-grief-bites-doubt-revealed

3. Grief Bites: A New Approach To Growing Through Grief https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/862-grief-bites

4. Grief Bites: Hope For The Holidays: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/1964-grief-bites-hope-for-the-holidays

5. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Christmas: http://bible.com/r/3V5

6. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Happy New Year!: http://bible.com/r/3Zv

7. Valentine’s Day: Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/14059-valentines-day-experiencing-holidays-with-jesus

⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is copyright protected material. Please ask for permission to copy, use, or print.

⭐️⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is for encouragement purposes only and is not in any way to be construed as medical, emotional, mental, relational, or psychological advice. We hope to serve as a bridge to encourage others by sharing our personal grief and life experiences. Please contact a qualified healthcare professional, mental health professional, or qualified pastor for guidance and advice.

The Very Best Time You Can Spend Today – It Can TOTALLY Make A Difference!

Dec19

🎄❤️🎄Good afternoon!
Today is a great topic (and so very needed in the world today)! Hope it encourages your heart and enriches lives!

As you read this, consider who you can do this for!💕

Have you ever received a note or word of kindness or thankfulness?

One time, I spoke at a school and shared my testimony. A few days later, I received dozens of homemade cards sharing many kind words to tell me, “thank you,” for speaking at their school. My heart was beautifully overwhelmed with gratitude!

Life-giving words of affirmation are so very important – spoken or written.
When people take the time to pour into the hearts of others, it makes the recipient’s heart happy – but more importantly, it blesses God’s heart, too!

When I was in college, God blessed me with the idea to write notes of gratitude to anyone who had invested in my heart or life.
As I sat down and made a list, I included Jesus, my parents, grandparents, siblings, other family members, good friends, all of my teachers and professors, my Sunday School teachers, pastors, youth group leaders, previous and current employers, the doctors who saved my life when I was 12 and 17…anyone who had benefited my life, invested in me, or poured their heart and prayers into my life.
I received several letters back and was very surprised when many shared I was the only one who ever wrote to thank them for their kindness or investment.

So many are truly thankful for how others have blessed their life or invested in them, yet we assume others understand how grateful we are without sharing our gratitude with them.

Who can you write a beautiful note of gratitude to today? Who can you call or visit to say, “thank you,” or share with them how much you love them and care about them?

Thankfulness, notes of gratitude, and words of affirmation and blessings are all beautiful, priceless gifts we can give to Jesus, our spouse, children, parents, family, friends, educators, doctors, those we know in the military, people who serve us in our communities — everyone.

Let’s take some time to truly thank Jesus for all of the great people, blessings, and things we have in our life!

Never miss an opportunity to pour the extra special blessing of thankfulness and words of affirmation into the lives of others!

🙏🏻Prayer: “Jesus, thank You so much for all of the love, words of affirmation and blessings You pour into our lives! We also thank You for the many times people have invested in us, raised us, prayed for us, poured into our hearts and lives, educated us, taught us how to love and serve You, sacrificed for us, helped us, and all of the other ways people have contributed to our lives! I pray a special blessing right now for those who have done this for us and our families. Jesus, please help us to live lives of love, thankfulness, and gratitude. Help us to truly see how much those around us pour into our lives, love us, and care enough to bless, help, and encourage us through life‘s events. May we never take anyone, anything, or any act of love, concern, care, kindness or investment for granted – and may we never fail to give proper thanks to You and others. Jesus, please place on our hearts the names of people You want us to write a letter of gratitude to, and please also place the names of people You would like for us to call to tell them a heartfelt “thanks.” Who needs to hear positivity, love, and encouragement from us today?Also – saying “sorry” to those we have wronged and asking for forgiveness is a powerful act of gratefulness, kindness, affirmation, and love — it shows someone we truly value their heart. Please show us who we need to apologize to today.
Help us to be people of extreme gratitude and extravagant love! We love You! In Your precious name we pray, Amen!”

⭐️Activity #1: thank Jesus for all of the good He has blessed you with, and is currently blessing you with, in your life! Write a beautiful letter of gratitude to Him! Share with others how good Jesus is!

⭐️Activity #2: make a list of all of the people throughout your lifetime who have invested in your heart, spiritual walk, education, health, and life….anyone who has invested or sacrificed so you could have a better life…anyone who has encouraged you during a time of stress, heartache, and grief…anyone who has gone out of their way to make your life better. Write or call them today to say, “thank you!”

⭐️Activity #3: reach out to your loved ones who are going through grief. Ask God for ideas for loving and encouraging your loved ones today.

⭐️Activity #4: if you have children, nieces, nephews, or little people in your life (this is also great to do for the big kiddos in your life, too!), consider giving them the gift of a daily spoken blessing. I’ve continually spoken a specific verse vocally to my son…I’d rub my tummy and say this blessing to him while he was in my womb, and randomly say this scripture blessing out loud to him throughout his life (Numbers 6:24-26).
You can choose a specific Bible verse as a blessing or just use loving, positive words of encouragement. Loving words of blessing and encouragement are one of the most powerful gifts you can give to loved ones!💕
(If it feels weird to give loved ones spoken blessings, just tell them you’re starting a new tradition. They’ll love it!)

❤️Read: Numbers 6:24-26, Colossians 3:16-17, Psalms 9:1, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalms 100:4, Psalms 103:1-5

🎄💕🎄

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