Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

The Transformative Power of Grief

Posted on September 13, 2012 - by David Roberts

Embracing a Different Perspective Since my daughter Jeannine’s death at the age of 18 in March of 2003, I have undergone a radical spiritual transformation. I have learned to embrace all that is part of the universe, to help me gain a different perspective on Jeannine’s entry into eternal life. In the process I have learned that my relationship with Jeannine is ongoing. Who she is, is now a permanent part of who I am and who I want to be. I still have much to learn on my journey and am poised for that to happen from anyone who […]

A Life Alone: Adjusting to Being a Widower

Posted on September 12, 2012 - by Abel Keogh

A recent widower recently emailed me the following: Dear Abel, I’ve been going through your blog, and I was wondering what your response would be to learning how to be single, or being a peace with being alone first. You’ve pointed out several times that widowers jump into a relationship to possibly fill in a void, and in that case, perhaps an explanation as to how you dealt with being alone during the first few months would be helpful. I lost my fiancé a month ago, and I am figuring out how to go through this myself. Thanks, Mark (name […]

Five Artist Perspectives on the Numinous Quality of Portraiture

Posted on September 11, 2012 - by Katherine Relf-Canas

I asked the five artists whose reflections appear below to write about what I call the numinous quality of portraiture. I want to thank them for providing me with their insight and for their personal responses. Each commentary is different and uniquely speaks about the authors’ life, experiences and craft. I will be adding additional artist statements in a follow-on piece. In portraits, many different qualities are at play all at once. Portraits seem to be a sign of love: of a person, of artistic ideas and family history. Sometimes one of these predominates, sometimes all three. For a portrait […]

Hey, Widows: You Can’t Do Everything and Do Everything Well

Posted on September 10, 2012 - by Catherine Tidd

“You can’t do everything and do everything well.” I was sitting at a piano, confiding in my piano teacher as I often did, when she doled out this piece of advice that has stuck with me ever since. At 16-years-old, I didn’t yet have a clue what she was talking about – she was probably making me feel better for mediocre grades on my finals or a lost audition – but those words of wisdom have been with me for years. They were with me when I got married, when I worked and took 21 credit hours my last semester […]

Widow Ages While Husband is Always 25

Posted on September 10, 2012 - by Brandi Reyna

There are just times when grief hits you like a tidal wave. The waves hit again and again. I’m just trying to come up as I tread water and catch my breath, trying to breathe and stay afloat. Greg’s 27th birthday earlier this year was one of those days for me. It was a week before Greg’s 27th birthday and I was already “feeling it.” I have not done well on the two birthdays since his accident. What really caused me a lot of pain on this birthday was the realization that this is another year that I count in […]

Calling on Spirit in Times of Sadness

Posted on September 9, 2012 - by Sheri Perl

When I am my saddest and most bereft, I turn to spirit. I know that although I cannot see spirit, that spirit exists. I know that spirit exists because in 1971, I had an extraordinary healing experience with the late British spiritual healer Harry Edwards and I felt energy around all around me and somehow this energy healed my body. Up until this time in my life, I didn’t believe in anything that you couldn’t see. But then I was presented with this invisible energy that I could actually feel and a very wonderful healing that took place in my […]

Grieving Mother gets BIG Message from her Loving Son

Posted on September 9, 2012 - by Sally Grablick

My son, Ryan, committed suicide in June of 2002; but from day one, I was keenly aware that his spirit never left me. Fortunately, I have been blessed with many signs and dream visits since he crossed over. With time, my awareness grew, and I learned to understand and recognize the different signs he would give to me in efforts to get my attention. His favorites are: butterflies, numbers, feathers, heart rocks, frogs and herons. I’ve learned that Ryan is in control of the signs – when and how they are delivered – is completely up to him. If I […]

‘Carry On’: A Song of Hope

Posted on September 9, 2012 - by Paul Coleman

What would those who died say to their loved ones if they could somehow get a message across? I asked that question over and over in my mind in April 1995 after the bombing in Oklahoma City shook the country and 168 people including nineteen children lost their lives. The loss of innocent life was tragic enough. And then I imagined the loved ones who survived at home, who never realized when they had awakened that morning, how their lives would be permanently altered. There was no opportunity to say goodbye. My sister-in-law and her family resided in Oklahoma City. […]

How Working Outside My Hope Helped Me Survive

Posted on September 7, 2012 - by Madeline Sharples

When my older son Paul died by suicide in 1999 after a seven-year battle with bipolar disorder, I had to find ways to keep myself busy and productive or else I would wallow away in my grief. At the time of his death I wrote grant proposals for a homeless shelter, but with too many reminders working from my home office, I decided I needed a job away from home. After two false starts at part-time jobs – writing grant proposals for our local free clinic and managing capital campaigns as a fundraising consultant – I decided to try to […]

Your Spiritual Path to Grief Healing

Posted on September 7, 2012 - by Harriet Hodgson

Though grief has common symptoms, each person’s grief is unique. Your grief isn’t quite the same as mine, and each of us must find our way. In 2007, after losing my daughter, father-in-law, brother, and former son-in-law, I was overcome with grief, so overcome I could hardly function. But my husband and I were our twin grandchildren’s guardians and we didn’t have time to waste. Two vulnerable teenagers were depending on us. At the time, I didn’t have a grief recovery plan, yet my subconscious was working on it. Each day, I set aside some time for reflection. And I […]