Navigating Through Grief and Loss
"Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pour through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."
For the past couple of years, I have been exploring grief. Not due to any personal experience -- I have actually, thankfully, never experienced the loss of a loved one. My grandpa passed away before I was born, I have one grandma who is turning 81, and the other just turned 96! Again, I am extremely blessed to have such strong genes in our family 😄🙏
However, I know that there are never gurantees in life, and I recognize that not everyone has a similar blessing... So for the past couple of years, I have surrounded myself in grief. I follow a bunch of influencers; some who have lost babies, young children, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers...
Do not ask me why; I have no solid answer for it. I just prefer to remind myself of what's important in life.
(Source: Image by Temel from Pixabay)
Well, as always, a book happened to arrive at the perfect time in my life! 😁 Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul... I would like to share one of my favorite stories from it, as well as some inspirational quotes...
There is one story where the priest shares his eulogy during a funeral. He tells the story of the water beetles, how some of the beetles would step onto lilypads, only to disappear and never return. The beetles promise that when they make it onto the other side, they will return to tell the others about it.
However, when one of the beetles makes his journey onto the lilypads, he magically transforms into a dragonfly! 🦋
When he tries to return to the other beetles, he finds that they no longer recognize him in his new form. He cannot communicate with them to tell them about his journey. So the dragonfly says to himself, "They will just have to wait until it is their turn, to find out the truth," and flies away...
I enjoyed this story for its simple message; that, sometimes, there simply are no answers until it is your turn to discover them. No matter how hard you try, no matter how long you plan, there are things in this world that we cannot understand until it is the right time -- until it is our time 🙏
Here are some beautiful quotes that I found for grieving and loss...
"Eventually the pain of parting diminishes, but the love remains forever -- like a timeless gift."
"Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pour through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."
"She had been deceased for about 45 minutes. ... 'There is a God! I saw His face! Tell Chris, there is a God!"
"Accept the pain. Do not suppress it. Never attempt to hide grief."
(Source: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay)
"Death is but a change a form / Your loved one is still near"
"'Whatta relief to be released from that body... to range so freely... to grow so wide... Would you just look at me?'"
"The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next."
"'Oh, Mommy. Grandpa tells me he loves me every day. He tells you, too. You're just not listening.'"
"When they told me I could keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come!"
I think the main thing that I took away from all of these stories, is that life does not end with death. Our loved ones are still with us; they send us signs all of the time. The biggest indicators are when people claim to have seen God or heaven during near-death experiences, and children's experiences with loss as well. There are some things that simply cannot be explained, and I think that is fine. There will come a time when all of our questions will finally be answered.
(Source: Image by