Seasons come and seasons go and I believe…I’m pretty sure…that I am just about out of my
24-month season of loss and returning to a season of life. Of course, only time
will tell.
My upbringing teaches me to “pull up my bootstraps and
stand tall,” however, with each loss my strength to pull and stand erect
weakened. Depression pulled me further and further into its abyss. And my body
followed.
Weight gain. Back pain. Brain drain.
During this season of multiple losses, I have searched for
help and understanding of it all… with little results.
Some of you may remember that I tried meeting with a
counselor, but after only two sessions she sent me out on my own, which became
another loss to grieve. Chiropractic treatments have relieved some physical pain. Additional vitamins and supplements cleared some of the brain fog. The weight issue has yet to be tackled.
I sought help online and found the usual stages of grief.
Some say seven stages. Most say five.
1.
Shock 1.
Denial
2.
Denial 2.
Anger
3.
Anger 3.
Bargaining
4.
Guilt 4.
Depression
5.
Sorrow and depression 5. Acceptance
6.
Acceptance
7.
Engaging life
The list of losses include: relationship breakup, beloved’s
death, health issues, job loss or change, financial instability, lifestyle modification,
death of a pet, death of a dream, loss of a friendship, moving from all things
familiar, insecurity after a trauma, selling the family home
And, then, of course, everyone grieves their losses in
different ways. Everyone’s timetable is different in the healing process.
Nevertheless, what I did not
find was grief information dealing with multiple—piled on—one after
another—losses.
Working through each loss, each stage of grief, trying to
stay on top of them before the next shoe dropped…especially for my husband, my
mom, and my in-laws…was exhausting to my body, spirit, and soul.
So, the strategies I chose to follow were:
Prayer, prayer, and more prayer
Praise, praise, and more praise
Trust, belief, and faith
Through the sale of my peaceful acreage home, moving away
from all things familiar, my husband’s job change, the news of, the waiting on,
and the deaths of our brothers’ cancers, followed by another major move and
lifestyle adjustment, I never let go of God’s hand. I never quit seeking Him
through His word. I never stopped laying all of my burdens down at His feet
through prayer, prayer, and more prayer.
I give God all the praise and glory for holding my hand and
giving me the necessary strength… the arms to fall into…the shoulder to leave
my tears upon. HE alone is worthy of praise, praise, and more praise.
I never let go of the God of Hope…my hope. He gave me the
strength to keep on keepin’ on. Trust without
understanding. When I was weak and weeping, He lifted me up. Belief in the One true God. He carried
me. Faith in the darkness.
And now I sense the grieving is coming to an end. My season
of loss is returning to the season of new life, new possibilities, and new adventure. Grief turned relief.
How do you handle loss? Where do you turn? Have you
recognized the healing stages of grief over your losses?
I encourage you to not walk through your grief steps alone.
Find support—whether through one-on-one counseling, a group of other grievers,
or even a few friends to let you talk, cry, and pray with and for you.
Pray.
Praise.
Never
stop trusting Him, believing His word,
and walking by faith despite the seasons of loss.
Most importantly, let God love on you.
“Concerning
this I implored the Lord
three times
that
it might leave me.
And He has said to me,
‘My grace is sufficient for you,
for power
is perfected in weakness.’
Most
gladly, therefore,
I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
so
that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore
I am well content
with weaknesses, with insults,
with
distresses, with persecutions,
with difficulties, for
Christ’s sake;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2
Corinthians 12:8-10 nasb
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