Surviving Grief

  Grieving Hearts Need Gentle Places By Dyan Bertha Fiorentino Grief Does not Stop the World — But It Changes Ours When we are grieving, the world does not stop — but it often feels like it should. As I sat down to film this video, I was thinking about the countless hearts carrying silent burdens. Those who have lost a spouse, a parent, a child… or even the version of life they thought they would have. I know that kind of ache. It is not just emotional — it is spiritual, physical, and daily.   In June 2025, I lost my husband, Mark — my anchor, and my home. And in the years before, I lost my mother, Jackie, and others dear to me. Each loss brought its own storm, and each storm forced me to grow deeper roots in my faith.   But grief does not come with a roadmap. Every day brings different challenges, some easy to navigate alone, and some too hard to even consider. Since Mark left, I have thought about the dreams we will never fulfill. We wanted to travel around the Unit...

🌅 The Quiet After Goodbye "He could feel a hand on his shoulder. "All right," he said softly. "All right." He stood at his walker. He could sense eyes staring at him. "Goodbye," he said to the coffin. He turned on his walker and began to move away. It was a day of sun, warm, bright, and a soft wind from the west. The earth was green. The sun felt good on his face and hands."  —TERRY KAY  There's a strange silence that follows the funeral — a holy stillness, like creation itself has paused in reverence. The moment feels suspended, sacred, unbearable. And somehow beautiful. 📜 Rituals That Hold Us The rituals help. They give form to the chaos. A service. A reading. A closing prayer. These traditions remind us what to do when we no longer know what to feel. No, rituals don’t heal us. But they hold us until we can begin to heal. And maybe that’s enough. I am learning to be held. Learning to let the simple moments carry me. Sometimes, the s...

 The Anger I Was Ashamed to Feel – And the Love That Never Left "She taught me that grief is a time to be lived through, experienced fully, and that the heavens will not fall if I give voice to my anger against God in such a time.  --Elizabeth Watson ⚓Introduction – Anchoring in Today's Passage  Today's passage from Healing After Loss hit hard.  It gave me permission to feel what I've been burying — anger.  Yes, I'm angry at myself. There was a season in our lives when all Mark and I did was fight. ䷼The Truth – Naming the Guilt and Conflict There was a time I hated him. That feels like a horrible thing to write. But it's the truth. But we were falling apart — not in love, not in sync. We fought constantly while trying to build a life, a business, and somehow hold ourselves together after so many personal losses.  I had just lost my mom, and it felt like the ground beneath me crumbled. I felt misunderstood. Overwhelmed. Lost.  There were mome...