GriefShare

Recently, Pastor John invited our staff to share our passions for the ministries we are involved in here at the church. As your Administrative Assistant and a GriefShare facilitator here at the church, I wanted to take a moment and share my passion for a program in which I am involved. GriefShare takes a healthy approach to dealing with bereavement and the healing process after the loss of a loved one. Furthermore, GriefShare takes you through the steps of grieving, helps you experience coping skills and reveals how God can be in control while your life is turned upside down.

Grieving takes on different meanings for each individual who is experiencing a loss. The Dictionary defines grieving as, “keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss, sharp sorrow, or painful regret.” For some people grieving can take on the metaphor of an "unwanted houseguest". What’s important is not so much how you define it as how you deal with the emotions at hand.

The GriefShare support group is a safe place to come and share your emotions, thoughts and pain as a result of the loss of a loved one. Just knowing there are others who are making this journey with you can help in the healing process. When we reflect on the poem "Footprints in the Sand", the message we receive is that God carries us through our most difficult journeys. On the journey of grieving, there are two things of which you can be sure. One, your emotions will be changing throughout the process. And two, God won't change. He has always been there for you and always will be there for you.

One former member, Correnda, reveals: "The GriefShare program was a big help to me as I had just recently lost my mom. This program helped me to realize that all people grieve differently in their own way. I now understand much better what the grieving process is all about and how to accept my mom's death. The GriefShare program is an excellent one that I would recommend to anyone who has experienced a loss and is having a difficult time. I have become good friends with some of the people that were in the group with me."

As an acting GriefShare facilitator, I have had many opportunities to reflect on my own experiences. God has taught me how to embrace the love and memories I hold dear in my heart for those loved ones that have gone on before me. I am grateful to be a part of the GriefShare program and the healthy approach it offers individuals who are going through bereavement.
If the opportunity should ever arise and you feel the need, please join Cindy Halderman, Sadie Varela and myself on Thursdays at 6 p.m. in room MC252.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heaven: a time to be born and a time to die....a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4

Many Blessings,
Toni Peyton Grace