Grief & Grieving Session. WRGY Week 3

There’s a lot of things the Lord has been revealing to me, but this certain session completely wrecked me. GRIEF AND GRIEVING. Yeah, I didn’t expect much going into it. I was tired, thinking about a lot that morning, and wasn’t in the right mindset. Also, I went in thinking, yeah, I’m not grieving over anything right now. I’m doing okay… Well, as we started digging into this teaching, God revealed parts of my past that I had pushed deep down inside of me. Bringing that back up and showing me that I actually never grieved over that season of my life. So, today we’re going to talk about it!

My squad mentor, Madie, began this teaching and the question that stuck with me for the next week was, “What happens when we don’t grieve?” People said things like, we tend to cover our pain up and sometimes even deny the opportunity for God to heal us… I feel like a lot of us can say we have done this before. Whether it be bottling up all of your feelings, numbing your pain by drugs or alcohol… Or maybe you’re one of those people who isolate yourself in your room and avoid everyone and everything until someone literally forces you to get out of bed. Either way, there are many ways people grieve. Healthy and unhealthy. 

What I want to share with all of you today on this specific topic is what Madie (squad mentor) taught my squad and I during this session and also, being open with how this message has come to play in my life. I believe God gave me this blog to be vulnerable with all of you, sharing how He has worked in my life and how He is working in yours as well. So, let’s hop into this message!

Like I mentioned earlier, there are many ways people grieve. My whole life I have grieved in an unhealthy way and I didn’t recognize this until I became older. If I was ever going through something rough, I would lock myself in my room and just cry. I wouldn’t talk to anyone, I would skip school and work, and just lay in bed until I had to use the restroom or got hungry. Sounds pretty bad right? But the thing is, I know a lot of other people have done this before too. And I just want to tell all of you that there is a much healthier way to grieve and that there is someone who will help you do that.

In Matthew 5:4, it says, “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This verse is such a great example Madie gave us in this session. It’s a verse that’s often overlooked, so I thought it was cool reading it again, and allowing it to sink in. So, when it says this, it made me think about when we grieve, when we are at the lowest of lows, we finally allow God the space to come in. Because sometimes it takes us getting to our breaking point to finally go to God and ask for help. And what’s so cool is when we allow Him to come in, He sits with us. He sits and COMFORTSus. BLESSES us with His unfailing and long-lasting love. Blessing us by showing us that He is right beside us, working on the situation and working on our hearts. That He has been there the entire time and shows you in your moments of trouble, that He hears your pain and feels that pain with you. 

Often times, when we are grieving, we go to God as our last resort. We pour ourselves into other people, products, and literally anything we can find that will numb our pain. But like that verse I mentioned earlier, God literally is saying He will come to comfort and bless us. So why do we push Him away so much? Why do we think He won’t help us in our times of trouble when He says repeatedly in the Bible that He will not abandon us? That He will rescue, save, help, protect, and comfort us in our times of trouble. Today, I want to challenge all of you to make a decision. To either continue to stay where you’re at, hurting… or allow yourself to walk with God in this season and find healing in Him. 

With that, I want to give all of you some tips that Madie shared with us in this session. First, journaling with God! This is my favorite BY FAR when it comes to sharing my feelings with the Lord and finding healing in Him. Especially when I feel like I can’t verbally talk with Him, I sometimes just need to write letters to Him. This has already had a MAJOR effect on me in this season and I think it’d be something that would help all of you as well! Second, sitting in silence with God. I know this can be really hard but sitting with Him and allowing a space for Him to come in and speak to you is so important. When we pray, it’s so easy for us to just talk the entire time… Are we really allowing God to talk too? Really sit in silence with Him and allow Him to talk to you through your situation. He has great things to say!!! Third, verbally process with God, then with others. Meaning, go to God first with your situation, then go to your best friend. A lot of us, myself included, tend to go to our best friend when we are feeling overwhelmed, then talk to God about it later. Go to God first about your situation, verbally processing it with Him, allowing Him to fill you up with His peace and truth over you, calming you down, then talk with your bestie about it! 

So, yeah! 🙂 I just really felt the need to share this session with all of you, because people everywhere are going through something and it’s so easy to go down the unhealthy route when grieving. It’s easy to just stuff your feelings down, browse social media, and sleep it off. But today I want you to sit with God and find healing and restoration in Him. Because, you are not alone in this whatsoever. Give Him space to come in, maybe try out some of these tips Madie shared with us and apply it to your life.

Lastly, here are some questions Madie shared with us to journal! :

What have you been grieving over recently?

How did you deal with your emotions after the event happened?

How do you feel about it now?

Is there any truth God wants to speak over you in this event?

Wanted to share these questions with all of you, because writing down my answers and sitting with the Lord helped me tremendously! Feel free to try it out and if you want, let me know how it went! 🙂 I love each of you and if you ever want to reach out and talk about something, or just have questions, feel free to message me! Thanks, and God Bless y’all!!!

–       Your sister in Christ, Jamie Schroeder