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Focus on Hope

Posted on January 15, 2021 - by Jill Smoot

It came to me the other day. Almost as a shock. With all the craziness in this year of 2020. With faces hidden behind masks. With people separated from family and friends. With news, and noise, and numbers. I had not been thinking of Aaron so much. I was grieving for others. My prayers were purposeful, not perplexed. “ God help us!” Help US, not just Me. Knowing fully that God can, and does help. He does hear our cries, and He does answer. Sorrow can be so solitary. I know that to be true. But it can strangle, forming a focus on […]

Assembling My Grief Survival Kit: What’s In Yours?

Posted on January 15, 2021 - by Harriet Hodgson

My husband died two weeks ago, but I had been preparing for his death a long time. I was my husband’s caregiver and watched him summon courage when he learned he was paraplegic. I watched him adapt to failing health and make the most of each day. I watched him and learned from him. Hundreds of times, he said, “I love you to eternity,” and I loved him the same way. I continue to feel his love and it gives me strength. During 63 years of marriage we were a couple and now it was just me, flying solo. What […]

Writing Happy Holiday Memories

Posted on December 23, 2020 - by Linda Freudenberger

I wrote this story as a happy Christmas memory…it especially holds true since my husband passed in 2017. I found a Charlie Brown-like tree: pitiful, sparse, complete with Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and Schroeder at the piano ornaments on it. This is my new Christmas tradition since it is too difficult both physically and emotionally to put a tree with all the memories of past Christmases. This one is enough to bring me joy. A Charlie Brown Christmas “Babe, we’re going to have to cut back a lot this Christmas. Just found out from HR that we will have to […]

Widow Resolutions: The Four Gs

Posted on December 21, 2020 - by Kerry Phillips

The new year offers a time for reflection and looking ahead. For the widowed community, it can be a double-edged sword: wanting to move forward while holding onto the precious memories of a late spouse. With so much hurt and pain in the world, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, I encourage you to consider the following four Gs while working on 2021 resolutions: Grace Give yourself grace throughout 2021. You survived the hell of 2020. Whether you made it through with flying colors or by the skin of your teeth, celebrate all you’ve accomplished and forgive yourself for the mistakes and […]

Change: The Unwanted Gift

Posted on December 19, 2020 - by Bernie Siegel

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly. ” – Richard Bach Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 — To everything there is a season; And a time to every purpose under the sun; A time to get and a time to lose; A time to keep and a time to cast away. My wife died after we were married for 63 years, but at the same time I still have her with me. What do I mean by that? I mean that her humor, beauty, love and spirit are still beside me and will never be lost […]

4 Things to Remember About Grief

Posted on December 17, 2020 - by Peggy Bell

Losing a spouse is one of the most difficult life changing events a person will experience. It brings with it a huge amount of stress. We find ourselves dealing with issues we probably didn’t realize would be a factor. You might wonder if what you are feeling is normal and whether you will ever be happy again. Below are four things to remember about grief. Your heart will feel like it has been ripped apart. Losing a spouse is so very painful. You will feel as though your heart has been ripped to shreds. You will wonder how you can […]

Stages of Grief: Real of Not?

Posted on December 14, 2020 - by Peggy Bell

Excerpt from Life After Loss For Widows: Lifting the Veil of Grief You may have heard there are stages of grief we all go through. If you google it, you might see there are five stages. Another article may say there are seven stages. Still others say there are really no stages at all. Perhaps grief consists of emotions in no particular order and not everyone may experience all of them. Although I am no doctor, and I don’t even play one on TV, I choose to believe the latter. In fact, science is acknowledging that more today than they […]

5 Reasons to Still Celebrate This Holiday Season Even Though You’re Grieving

Posted on December 13, 2020 - by Peggy Bell

Sometimes after losing our spouse, it is difficult to find things to be happy about. In the early stages of our grief, finding anything good in our life requires coming out of the dark protective cocoon we have built around ourselves and looking for something other than sadness. We just don’t want to do that yet. With the holidays upon us and beside the spiritual aspect of the season, let us look at five reasons we should still celebrate, despite the grief we are experiencing. You had love in your life. The reason your grief is so painful is because […]

Navigating 5 Life Changes: Reflections on the Journey

Posted on December 8, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, which is available at: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time” — T.S. Eliot Imagine coming back from a long trip and looking around and really seeing what surrounds us – the furniture in our home, the books on the table, the art on the walls, the china in the kitchen. Outside, flowers are starting to burst through the soil, there are buds […]

Navigating 5 Life Changes: Coming Home

Posted on December 6, 2020 - by Mary Lou Meddaugh

This is an excerpt from Navigating 5 Life Changes: An Odyssey of Resiliency and Hope, available at: https://www.creativecoachingmethods.com/ “The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.” — Ivy Baker Priest I can see it now – a tiny spec on the horizon. I point my compass to my true north and with the wind in my sails, I chart my course and head home. As the land mass gets bigger, I have a new understanding of what “home” means to me. So with solid footing, I step ashore and […]