Grief Bites: A New Approach to Growing Through GriefSample

I am frequently asked what has made the greatest difference in my grief recovery...and I love to share what God has done in my life. I am so grateful to Him for lifting me out of my grief and giving me firm place to stand so I can tell others about His great love.

These are my Top 5 things (other than family and friends) that tremendously helped me through deep grief. I hope these are an encouragement to you today...and I hope you will come up with a Top 5 list for yourself so you can share God’s love and healing with others.

1. God. He was there for me through the sleepless nights, showed me scriptures that infused me with hope, became my brightest joy and comfort as well as my best friend, collected every tear I cried and wrote each heartache in His book, tattooed my name on His hands, and gave me a beautiful life purpose. He is ALWAYS there for me 24/7.

2. Journaling. When my pain was too heavy and deep to speak, or I couldn't vocalize my thoughts, I could always write them in my journal. Some of my journal writings, the scriptures God showed me, and 10 of my journal prayers were what formed my book, Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You. If you are going through grief, journaling helps so much, especially since your memory will fail you in times of grief.

3. Gratefulness. Finding 5 things each and every day to be grateful for eventually put life back in perspective for me. As I cultivated a grateful heart, I was able to live life fuller, with much more meaning. Little things became big things. Things/people I once took for granted, became much more important. I became so grateful for the people who were still in my life and thankful for simple joys in life. Nature. Music. Family. Friends. A great cup of tea or coffee. Love. Health. Hugs. A relaxing dinner out. An ice cream cone. Birthdays of loved ones. Holidays. The ocean. Sunshine. Rainy days. Grief taught me to never take anyone or anything for granted. Taking the time to focus on what I still had in life, more than who and what I had lost, dramatically helped me through grief.

4. Celebrating. Celebrating my loved one's lives--whether they are still living or deceased--has been an incredible experience. So many times in grief, people faultily think the goal is to "get over" a loved one...and sometimes, people become so deep in grief, they forget to still love and invest in their living loved one's lives. I celebrate all of them. My sister loved baking...so in her honor and memory, I celebrate her memory by baking treats and giving them to people who I know need encouragement. I honor my loved one's who are in heaven by celebrating my time I had with them by enjoying things they once loved to do while on earth and I celebrate my loved one's who are living by loving them well while I still have them here to enjoy and love. Each and every day is worth living and celebrating...and so are loved ones! Celebrating life with God and the friendship He offers is the best of all!

5. My life purpose. Going through so many deaths and trials molded my heart to have the ability to help others through grief. With each heartache I experienced, my life purpose and the amount of people I would be able to minister to grew. I truly enjoy helping people through my grief ministry. To see someone who is incredibly downcast find God and life again is priceless. If you have, or are, experiencing grief, God is going to use you to be an absolute jewel to someone who is going through a similar situation. Seek God to find your life purpose. Two awesome resources that can help you find your life purpose are: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren and LifeChurch's Chazown by Craig Groeschel. You can find great life-changing resources through these websites: www.purposedriven.com and www.Chazown.com Once someone finds their life purpose, life will never be viewed the same.