Then and Now — grateful, yet grieving

(Photo: Unsplash)

Whether you are years into the journey or in the early days of grieving, there is a process of change. When people say, “you’ll get over it”, I want to cringe. We don’t get over the loss of our loved one, we move through the sorrow, pain, and grief into a different life than before. Life after loss guarantees one thing; where you are is not where you’ll stay. 

Over the past four years, I’ve gone through radical changes in my life.

At the onset of the sudden loss of my husband,

I was derailed,

dismantled,

detoured,

disoriented.

Over time, I have been recalibrated, 

renovated,

rerouted,

repurposed. 

The process was painful and invisible. But, slowly with stops and starts, my grief pushed me from the place of almost being destroyed to a sense of restoration that is hard to describe. 

Grief is a silent companion that makes its presence known ever so slightly, but I am able to live life in a different way than before. 

Grief doesn’t disappear completely. I still feel it when I’m in a room full of people of couples and I’m the only single person there. 

God’s promise continues to sustain me, Psalm 147, verse 3, “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.”

A classic quote by Dr. Earl A. Grollman, author and Rabbi, clarifies what grief is: “Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.

FREE ebook by Pam Luschei | Click HERE To Download

Give

Subscribe to the Daybreak Devotions for Women

Be inspired by God's Word every day! Delivered to your inbox.


More from Pam Luschei

  • featureImage

    Moving toward the Light — Grateful, yet Grieving

    This past summer, I was able to travel with my two adult children to four national parks. With the limits of travel due to the quarantine, we made a road trip and went to Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier. I made a goal of seeing the sunset in each park at least once. As I

    3 min read
  • featureImage

    Creating Hope — Grateful, yet Grieving

    After college, I worked with children with special needs in a child development center. One of the activities I would create for the children was an art project, usually with a theme or related to the season of the year. I remember distinctly that it was all about the “process, not the product.” Ea

    2 min read
  • featureImage

    Temporary Gifts — Grateful, yet Grieving

    Last week was my wedding anniversary. The date on the calendar has been etched in my brain since 1981, when I walked down the aisle. It was a day of gratitude for the years I did have, while grieving the years I didn’t get to have. Recently, while attending a memorial service, I heard the

    2 min read
  • featureImage

    Three Funerals and One Graduation — Grateful, yet Grieving

    So much of life is defined by beginnings and endings. In the last 6 months, I’ve attended three funerals and one college graduation. All of the events were marked by a start and a finish. All of the events provided the participants with an experience of collective connection. The funerals were all

    2 min read
  • featureImage

    Keep Going — Grateful, yet Grieving

    By Sarah Christy I am someone who knows grief and desires to live in the light. I am a writer and a close friend of God who prompts me to Keep Going. I have always enjoyed words and stories and have used journaling as a way of processing my life. My husband of 58 years died in June. He had Alzhei

    3 min read

Editor's Picks

More from Pam Luschei

  • featureImage

    Moving toward the Light — Grateful, yet Grieving

    This past summer, I was able to travel with my two adult children to four national parks. With the limits of travel due to the quarantine, we made a road trip and went to Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier. I made a goal of seeing the sunset in each park at least once. As I

    3 min read
  • featureImage

    Creating Hope — Grateful, yet Grieving

    After college, I worked with children with special needs in a child development center. One of the activities I would create for the children was an art project, usually with a theme or related to the season of the year. I remember distinctly that it was all about the “process, not the product.” Ea

    2 min read
  • featureImage

    Temporary Gifts — Grateful, yet Grieving

    Last week was my wedding anniversary. The date on the calendar has been etched in my brain since 1981, when I walked down the aisle. It was a day of gratitude for the years I did have, while grieving the years I didn’t get to have. Recently, while attending a memorial service, I heard the

    2 min read
  • featureImage

    Three Funerals and One Graduation — Grateful, yet Grieving

    So much of life is defined by beginnings and endings. In the last 6 months, I’ve attended three funerals and one college graduation. All of the events were marked by a start and a finish. All of the events provided the participants with an experience of collective connection. The funerals were all

    2 min read
  • featureImage

    Keep Going — Grateful, yet Grieving

    By Sarah Christy I am someone who knows grief and desires to live in the light. I am a writer and a close friend of God who prompts me to Keep Going. I have always enjoyed words and stories and have used journaling as a way of processing my life. My husband of 58 years died in June. He had Alzhei

    3 min read