What do we do when we are hoping for a white Christmas but get a blue one?
ONE Talk about your loved one
- By talking about him/er, you’re letting others know you’re good with talking
- Giving permission to others is necessary. IF that is what you want.
- ILLUSTRATION- I always have coffee with my buddy who buried his wife here 10 years ago on the date she was in her accident. We talk about her the entire time.
- QUOTE: Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men. Quintus Ennius
- QUOTE: Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. George Eliot
TWO Express your feelings and CRY (or yell or kick the cat)
- Put it in writing, or a tell a counselor, a close friend,
- QUOTE: “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love.” Washington Irving
- QUOTE: If you suppress grief too much, it can well redouble. Moliere
- Psalm 56:8 (TLB) 8 You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.
THREE Light a candle / plant a tree
- Even here is a good start.
- Our next trip to Israel will include a planting of a tree near the Sea of Galilee.
- Or go online and plant a tree somewhere in the world or buy fresh water for a village in Africa
FOUR Cut yourself some slack
- Your heart and mind are both out of sorts. We can’t rush the healing of a broken leg or a broken heart
- Change takes time.
- Wounds take time
- Altered routine takes time.
- BTW, pick and choose which events you attend this year. Resist doing things out of obligation
FIVE Enjoy a simple pleasure
- QUOTE: Wine is constant proof that God loves us. Benjamin Franklin
- QUOTE: Monday is great if I can spend it in bed. I’m a man of simple pleasures, really. Arthur Darvill
- Let your kitchen sink go – see a movie, visit with a friend, drive to the coast, stop at DQ.
- Some of you were caregivers for a long time. You will be tempted to feel guilty of doing anything for yourself.
- Not until you feel some balance come back in your life will you be able to treat yourself as your should.
SIX Say YES to help
- From neighbors and family and friends.
- Saying yes to help is not being a taker, it’s being a gracious receiver.
- Two years olds say, “No – i do it!” Adults say, “yes, please. That would be so helpful. Thank you”
- Lk 6:31 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Accept help just like you would want them to accept help from you if the situation was reversed.
Other possible points
- Start new tradition
- Look past yourself and donate time to a charity
Celebrate & Remember Funeral Pastor 