Positive Daily Inspiration - December 9, 2023
Saturday Inspiration
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“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
Matthew 5:4 NIV
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Dealing With Grief During The Holiday Season
Grief or depression can be overwhelming during the holiday season for some. Whether you have experienced the loss of a loved one or are currently fighting through a difficult time in your life, the following story might be just for you. It relates a great approach that you may be able to use to help you deal with grief in a positive fashion.
Someone on Reddit wrote the following heartfelt plea online:
“My friend just died. I don’t know what to do.”
A lot of people responded. Then, there was one old man that wrote an incredible comment that stood out from the rest that might just change the way that we approach the turmoil of life, death, and other negative experiences.
“Alright, here goes. I’m old. What that means is that I’ve survived (so far) and a lot of people I’ve known and loved did not. I’ve lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can’t imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here is my two cents.”
“I wish I could say you get used to people dying. I never did. I don’t want to. It tears a hole through me whenever someone I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don’t want it to ‘not matter.’ I don’t want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep … so was the love. So be it. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love. And the scar tissue is stronger than the original flesh ever was. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to people who can’t see.”
“As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. All you can do is float. You find some piece of wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it is a physical thing … a happy memory, a photograph, etc. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Staying alive.”
“In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything … and the wave comes crashing … but in between waves … there is life.”
“Somewhere down the line, and it is different for everybody, you will find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging onto some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.”
“Take it from an old guy … the waves never stop coming and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you will survive them. And other waves will come … and you will have to survive them too. If you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of scars from lots of loves … and lots of shipwrecks.”
If you are worried about a friend or loved one, or you yourself are in need of emotional support, the Life Line Network is available 24/7 across the United States. Call or text 988.
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POSITIVE DAILY PRAYER:
“The Traveler”
by James Dillet Freeman
[He/She] has put on invisibility.
Dear Lord, I cannot see–
But this I know, although the road ascends
And passes from my sight;
That there will be no night~
That You will take [him/her] gently by the hand
And lead [him/her] on
Along the road of life that never ends,
And [he/she] will find it is not death but dawn
I do not doubt that You are there as here,
And You will hold [him/her] dear.
Our life did not begin with birth,
It is not of the earth;
And this that we call death, it is no more
Than the opening and closing of a door–
And in Your house how many rooms must be
Beyond this one where we rest momently
Dear Lord, I thank You for the faith that frees,
The love that knows it cannot lose its own,
The love that, looking through the shadows see
That you and [he/she] and I are ever one.
POSITIVE DAILY AFFIRMATIONS:
I trust in God’s eternal plan of good for all.
I place myself and my dear one lovingly in God’s hands.
God is with me, and God is with my loved one.
God’s love enfolds me and my loved one. We are united in God’s love.
My loved one is in God’s care and keeping.
God is with me now. I am not alone.
God’s love strengthens, comforts and sustains me.
God is at work in me and in all that concerns me.
I trust God to guide me through life’s changes with love and reassurance.
POSITIVE DAILY QUOTE:
“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.”
Anonymous
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IN LOVING MEMORY OF
CHRISTOPHER IAN CHENOWETH
OCTOBER 1, 1951- DECEMBER 9, 2022
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