Grief and the Power of Hope
February 4, 2023
Recently, I read a book about grief. The author recounts her grief journey and the steps she took to process her grief. She recommends that the reader start a grief journal and gives prompts at the end of each chapter for the reader to respond to if they choose. One of the prompts asks about "wings" or "weights." The idea is that there are people, behaviors, and thoughts that uplift you, the wings, and people, behaviors, and thoughts that bring you down, the weights.
This idea resonated with me. In my grief journey, I made it my goal to grieve in the way I thought would be best for myself and our children. I decided to listen to the advice of others but reminded myself that I didn't have to do anything with it unless I thought it would help me process my emotions and thoughts. Allowing myself to grieve in a way that's best for me removed any pressure I would have felt trying to implement everyone else's advice. As I set out to respond to the question, "what or who are the wings and weights in your life"? I found it easier and more beneficial to list the wings.
My wings:
- Reading the Bible daily
- Praying or writing in a prayer journal or both
- Journal writing - a grief journal
- Friends and family
- Attending prayer meetings each Wednesday
- Attending church each Sunday
- Talking about my husband to anyone who will listen
- Taking baths (as often as desired)
- Reading (books other than the Bible)
- Homeschool Group
- Spending time with our children
- Coloring
- Completing word searches
- Praise and worship
- Taking walks/walking the dog
- Working on my collage wall
Additionally, I have found that continually working through my grief associated with the loss of Jamaal helped me fully cope with other losses. These are losses that I have learned to live with already to a certain degree.
