Fwd: Day 39 - Grief Is Legitimate

365 days of healing and encouragement Divorce support groups: Click here to find a DivorceCare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Grief Is Legitimate Day 39 Grief can be described as an overwhelming, unpredictable mass of emotions that bombard you and threaten to take over your life for an extended period of time. These emotions are your body's natural response to the loss and pain that occur in a divorce. You will hinder your healing if you try to suppress the emotions of grief. Your losses are legitimate and must be faced. Many people say that the loss associated with divorce is worse than the loss of a spouse through death: "In death there is closure because the person has died," says Dr. Linda Mintle. "In divorce, your ex-spouse is still out there. And, if you've had children with that person, chances are you will meet again under any number of circumstances, such as graduations, weddings, the birth of a grandchild, or at other significant events in your life. This kind of open-ended, ongoing relationship makes closure more difficult." Wayne says, "Divorce is worse than death because in divorce that person chose to leave you. In death so many times the person did not choose to leave, and you know that he or she died loving you; whereas in divorce it's not like that. Your ex-spouse is gone, and he or she wanted to leave." In divorce, you are mourning the death of a relationship that is no longer available to you, even though the people involved are still here. This is so difficult! "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge" (Psalm 62:8). Jesus, I need to express my emotions. I need to let them hit me, and then face them. Help me to do this in a way that's healthy! Amen. DivorceCare: Hope, Help, and Healing During and After Your Divorce The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. DivorceCare: Hope, Help, and Healing During and After Your Divorce by Steve Grissom and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at divorcecare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about DivorceCare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.divorcecare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@divorcecare.org. DivorceCare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 489-7778