Greetings,
Are you experiencing the pain from the loss of a loved one in this holiday season? Holiday grief is a very complicated time within the grieving process. Not only is one grieving the loss of a loved one, but they have the holiday rituals as reminders of how much they miss that person, pet, or relationship. Maybe you go with that person every year to the Christmas tree farm to pick out a new tree, or could it be that the loved one baked the family favorite pie, or you miss the fun of how dad pretended to be Santa Claus by eating the cookies and drinking the milk that was left out for Santa. Whatever that memory may be, it is sure to show up and bring the pain of loss with it during the holiday season.
Grieving can come in waves, and just when you think “I’m feeling better” there is a memory of a taste, a smell, and the holidays that trigger reminders of your loved ones. Allowing one’s self to grieve is a healthy part of the process related to loss. Leaning into grief allowing yourself to feel the emotions that come with grief is also a part of the healing process. When a person has never grieved the death of a person or the loss of relationship such as divorce, they may not be able to understand the emotions that are coming up during that time. Denial, anger, depression, guilt, and bargaining are stages of grief that need to be acknowledged in order to journey through grief to hope.
Here at Gateway of Hope, our prayers are that you will receive the comfort of the Lord and His strength as you go through the grieving process. We will be starting a 4-week grief group entitled, “Holiday Grief Group” beginning Monday, December 6thfrom 6:30 to 8:00pm. If you are interested in the grief group, please contact Gateway of Hope at 913-393-4283. The Lord promises to be with his people. His word says, “The Lord is close to the broken hearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed (Psalm 34:18, NLT).Grou