Grief and the Holidays

The holidays are often difficult for many of us who have lost a loved one. Whether or not we lost our loved one around the holidays, this time of year can be very painful. Memories tend to come flooding back, usually uninvited. Oftentimes the people around us speak very little of the one we lost, perhaps "not to bring up anything that would make us upset", and maybe because they are uncomfortable with pain or sorrow themselves. However, we would typically benefit from talking about the ones we have lost, even if just for a moment. We need to connect with our lost loved one in some way, in many ways, during the holiday season.

The article here talks about grieving through the holidays and offers many helpful ways to not only honor your lost loved one, but also how to prepare the loved ones that are around for your grief at this time of the year. The article also reminds us that we need to take care of ourselves during this difficult time of the year when our grief can be almost palpable.

We that believe in Jesus Christ must also remember the hope that we have in Him during our grief and mourning.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (New Living Translation)

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

Grief is difficult; it follows no easy formula, no clear timeline. Each person's grief is unique because each person's relationship with the loved one they lost is completely unique. Grief will sometimes cycle around unexpectedly and take us to new and deeper levels of loss, and of healing too. But within grief, there is an opportunity for deep healing, for remembering, and for forming a new relationship with the lost loved one. And there is the hope in Christ of seeing them again one day.