FIRST PRESS
6
Stephen Ministry
GOOD GRIEF Most people associate that saying with something exasperating. However, the grief I’m talking about is the grief most all of us will encounter at some point in our lives. Loss can show up unannounced in a variety of ways. Loss of job, health, friendship, divorce and death. Our culture tends to deny loss and the grief that accompanies it. Anyone who has been in the valley of the shadow of death knows this is unrealistic and unhealthy! When I turned 33, my world as I knew it was about to be changed forever. I went through four deaths and a divorce in five years. I had a two year old son at the time and wondered how will I endure this season of loss alone. The good news: I was never alone. Our church carried, fed and loved me through this dark night of the soul. Jesus was always there for me. Grief is hard work. Yet, I believe grief is a gift from God. If we allow ourselves in our woundedness to be open to Jesus and what he wants to teach us and reveal to us in our losses, healing and wholeness will come. It doesn’t happen overnight, but
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