grief
Losing a family member is one of the most traumatic life events; Families must support one another to endure the five stages of grief and get through it together.
My Testimony
My name is Lyndy. I am eighteen years old and I love Jesus. Who would have ever known I’d write this in a sentence. If you would have asked me a year ago, I would have told you I came from a place of despair. When I was a little girl, I spent a good amount of time with my grandmother. Every night, she would say a prayer and we would say what we were thankful for together. I was too young to know what or why I was doing what I was, but I did it anyways. Besides going to church on Easter day occasionally, that was the only time I could remember being devoted to God in any type of way. When I was nine, my uncle passed away. That was the lowest point in my life. Going through grief is so much harder when you have to watch everyone in your family go through it for years, too. Flash forward to my freshman year of high school, where I was friends with the “popular girls.” You know when you want to be friends with certain people and you don’t have anything in common, but you try anyway? That was what I did, and I did not feel comfortable or happy or loved. Flash forward to junior year when I was in a toxic relationship for a year and felt unworthy. Flash forward to when my great grandmother started getting sick. Many restless hospital visits, broken hearts, and many tears later, to the night I came into touch with Him. It was the beginning of January and my great grandmother’s health was slowly declining. She was in the hospital and I knew my grammy was a mess so I went to see her. I will never forget the hopelessness and tears that filled and consumed her. We talked for a while and the last thing she said to me was, “I guess the only thing we can do is just pray.” Something about that sparked my memory and I was reminded of my time with her as a child. I went home that night, crying. There was so much loss in my life that I would break down every time something bad would happen. I thought about what my grammy had said, “Just pray.” I had never prayed in my life but I went into my bedroom, got down on my knees, heavy. I was crying and I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I went with it.
By Lyndy Ehrenzeller8 years ago in Families
I Miss You
I’ll always be that little girl you held in your arms when I couldn’t even open my eyes. I’ll always be that girl that came crying to you after my first breakup and you cocked your shotgun. Your time has already come, and I don't know why the last time we saw you, you were doing just fine. It seems like just yesterday we were laughing with you. When I look up to the stars, I remember how special you are and how much I miss you.
By josh napper8 years ago in Families
To My Father
To My Father, I am currently writing this in my bed thinking about how to make everything better. I have done everything I can possibly think of doing. I have tried to help you, to help me, and to help everyone else in this situation. I really believe I have hit a point in my life which I can no longer take anymore. I meant every word I said in the car the other night. You probably do not remember our conversation. I am so upset with you and your actions that I simply do not feel anything at all. Mom has done everything for Brody, Ally, and I. Everyone has tried their best to shield Brody from what is really going on. One day eventually he will find out or even figure it out on his own. I understand you are an alcoholic. But you have not been there for me as much as Mom, Ally, and even my grandparents have been. You can't take back what we never had. I can be manipulated only so many times before even "I Love You" starts to lose meaning. Don't you remember that I'm your baby girl? You lied to your flesh and your blood. I dream of another you, the one who would never think about doing what you have done. I have always wished you the best. I prayed for your peace. Even if you started this, this whole war in me, maybe someday when I look back I'll be able to say you didn't mean to be this way. I used to think I was so lucky. That I had the best parents in the whole wide world. Then I found out everything. I would do anything it takes to protect mom and everyone else in this situation. Put yourself in my position. What if your dad was the problem, was the alcoholic. What if he made your mom cry all the time? Made your older sister breakdown at her boyfriend’s house? What if your father is one of the reasons you take anti-depressants? Just all that is what I have to go through on a daily basis. There is so much more that I don't even want to talk about because I know telling you all my troubles will not fix any of yours. This letter is going to be the last thing I “say” to you for a while. I do not want to speak with you. All of your words fall flat. When I have a daughter, she will never have to wonder her worth because, unlike you, I’m going to put her first. Any man can be a father, but not everyone can be a dad.
By Kennedy Hale8 years ago in Families
Loss. Top Story - February 2018.
My grandmother was the center of my family. She was like my second mother. She always seem to know the answer to any question that Alex Trebec throw out. She chain smoked while doing the cross word, and almost always drinking coffee. I spent summers, winters, and time after school, with her. She was a legend in my mind. I thought that she would never leave us. That somehow, she was going to out last us all.
By Kasey Renee8 years ago in Families
How I Coped With Having a Miscarriage
Many women dream as a kid about having the perfect wedding and having children of their own. To be just like their moms. I always wondered if I would have children or if I even wanted children. After meeting my husband and marrying him, I knew he is the only one that I could ever want kids with. He was the one that had me dreaming about being a mom. I knew I would never be as amazing as my mom is but I could try. After two and a half years of marriage, I found out I was finally going to have the chance to be like my mom. To be a mom meant the world to me. I was excited and scared. There was a life inside me and I hadn't the first clue as to what to do. I told Roger, my husband, and that same smile I fell in love with was bigger than ever. There was a light in our eyes and we couldn't wait to share with our families. But what we eventually shared with our families was anything but happiness. The smiles faded and that light in our eyes burnt out.
By Taylor Searcy Holland8 years ago in Families
Funerals
When my daddy died, my mom was so sick from chemo we had to put off his funeral. The plan was to have a viewing, funeral, then have him cremated. Instead, he was cremated the day after he passed. I am ok with not having the viewing. My last memory of my dad, while isn't the most ideal, it was of him alive. He talked about being baptized in the South China Sea, how he was excited to see his own father when he passed, and just how much he loved me. He was weak, sick and in pain but, he was alive and able to talk.
By Keleigh Kilgore8 years ago in Families
It’s Not Goodbye; It’s See You Soon
It was mid-July and the intense summer heat was in full effect. We were on our way to go camping in Vermont, my mother’s side had already gotten the camper set up right on Lake Bomoseen. It was supposed to be an amazing way to spend part of summer break, but with one phone call that all changed.
By Kyleigh Keovilay8 years ago in Families
Through Dad's Eyes
This is the journal of a dying man. My kids won't know everything from my life. They're barely old enough to realize daddy is sick. I sit in this room in the back of my mother's house at 33-years-old and I am facing a hole in the ground that is about six feet deep. Part of me wants to just jump in and escape the pain I'm in. Part of me wants to rewind the time, undo the things I did that will take me away from the lives I created. Were the times I had getting myself into this mess really worth the price that they'll pay without me here; were they worth the price I'm paying now? Every day I wake up to pill after pill and another day of doctors and IVs just to get through. Maybe I'll be here for the next birthday, or the next holiday. Maybe... Maybe not. At this point in my life, that shouldn't be a question. The reality of it is—my reality anyway—is every day, every hour, minute, second, every breath is a question. I can only hope and pray at this point. "Give me one more, God, please just one more. I want to see my daughters playing in the park just one more time. I just want one more kiss goodnight. I want to get to read one more bed time story. I don't want to go now, God, please let me hang on for a while longer. At least until they know me."
By Jade Grayson8 years ago in Families
The Seven Stages of Grief
The Seven Stages of Grief When my father passed away in 2015, it was a rough time in general. He had cancer in his lungs, esophagus and a tumor pressing on his brain, impairing his speech. It was hard because neither my brothers nor I had ever dealt with a death in the immediate family like this before. Thankfully, he already planned everything out ahead of time. I often wonder if I grieved in the appropriate manner. I’m still not sure if I did, or I just did it my own way. I was told by many people that it would eventually hit me, and hit me hard. Maybe it did subconsciously, because I never felt like it did. I decided to look into the seven stages of grief and give my outlook on them from my experiences.
By James Howell8 years ago in Families
It's OK to Grieve
I have had many traumatic things happen in my life. I have seen a woman get shot and watched her die. I almost died giving birth to my daughter, and she almost died as well. I cared for my grandmother until she died and it left me homeless for a few months. Nothing, however, has been as traumatic as caring for my parents and watching them slowly die.
By Keleigh Kilgore8 years ago in Families
