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Tag Archives: waiting

It’s a New Day a-comin’

30 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by donnamann in Grieve and Grow

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

anticipation, Hope, waiting

We live in hope that we are entering a new day. Hours not fully viewed, yet still bear a resemblance to what we know as familiar. The sunrise gives us a perfect example of how we get a sneak preview of the beauty a new day might offer. Yes, a storm might come and cause us to change plans, or board up the windows or maybe just cover some sensitive plants in the garden. A storm comes and goes, sometimes leaving wreckage, other times welcome in the heat of summer.

When I look at sunrays, I like to think about how many and then apply that number to positive areas in my day. Interesting that half of this sunrise picture is darkened leaving some rays more distinct than others. Is life a little like that for you now? Does this remind you of hidden areas waiting for you to grieve? We reflect on what used to be and wonder if those days will ever return. At this time, our day-to-day hours have only a vague likeness to 2019. And yet, we live out our day the best we can, give thanks to the front-line workers and all who help on the home-front. And we look forward to tomorrow.

In all of this, I see a positive and hopeful endurance amongst people. Even the students who missed their graduation walk, or families who couldn’t sit with their loved ones in death. Maybe frustration surfaces when those doctor and dentist appointments had to be rescheduled. Yet, many seem to rise to these challenges with intensity naming their frustration and then making plans to compensate.

I see strong people emerging out of this pandemic. Some have limited resources to celebrate the 3rd stage because of heartache, disappointment or even fear, and I invite them along with the rest of us to pause, to watch a sunrise and to consider the gift of hope.

Jot down some responses in your journal of the confident ways that are emerging in your life.

 

Photo credit: Sharron Marie

Missing You!

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by donnamann in Grieve and Grow

≈ Comments Off on Missing You!

Tags

alone, grief, loneliness, waiting

Losing you is like losing me

Whole pieces of me are gone . . . I know not where

I’m not sure who I am

or if I can ever be who I was.

I was your wife, your confidant, your comforter,

your encourager, your lover . . . 

It is as if my heart is gone.

It beats and I function but . . . 

I wonder why sometimes.

When I’ve finished work or made a difficult trip

There is noone to call and say, “I’m O.K.”

or

“I’m on my way home.”

There is noone to tell me I look great

when I get dressed.

Noone to look for when I am playing the piano at church

No distinctive laugh to listen for when I’m in a 

crowd or entering a church function

Noone to touch when I wake up during the night

Noone to wait supper for.

Noone to fill this aching void I feel 

in the pit of my stomach.

Will this ever change?

Submitted by Muriel Lush: ‘in memory of my husband’ (2008)

 

 

Seasons of Grief

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by donnamann in Grieve and Grow

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Tags

grieving, patience, stages of grief, waiting

 

‘Stages of Grief’ is not a favourite term for some people. Perhaps they fear having to experience them in a particular order. And if they don’t, they might think they’re doing something wrong. I find it helpful to think of manoeuvring my way through stages of grief. Sometimes it’s important to think of a silent dance without music – one step forward and two backwards. This often means you find yourself in a familiar stage while thinking you’d conquered it months ago.WinterGrief cover

I often use the term ‘Faces of Grief’. “I confront and practise them in no particular order. I face them time and again, sometimes together or one at a time. It is like moving through a crowd, identifying the faces I have grown to know so well, admitting the more I know them, the more I understand and am free to trust” (WinterGrief p.23).

I’ve come to appreciate the term ‘Seasons of Grief’. For children’s grief Dr. Donna A. Gaffney identifies several key seasons: the first day after death, services, re-entry to life following crisis; the first year; and significant life events of following years (p. 4). I think these particular times are important for adults as well.

Granted, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to grief, but these concepts can be helpful. Consider applying the words below to grief:

Winter is a season
Winter ushers in spring
Spring eases in with all its beauty and potential for new life.
Spring leads the way into a new season of expectation and colour. Why?

  • winter has strengthened important root systems
  • winter has provided a cover for bulbs to prepare for spring
  • winter has protected vines tucked into the earth
  • caregivers have weeded destructive roots at significant times

When spring comes in her beauty, winter recedes – not to deny it will return.
Spring comes with assurance that she can develop in due season.

Notepad_iconJot a few notes in your journal

Donna Mann

Donna Mann
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