Letting Yourself Grieve as a Christian with grief specialist Jeanne Geidel

In the last year, we have all experienced some sort of loss, whether it was the death of a loved one or the loss of a friendship. You might wonder, how am I going to get through this? What does grief look like for a Christian? That's why I'm excited to welcome grief specialist Jeanne Geidel to the Joie Miller Podcast. Today we're talking about what grief is and is not, how grief affects our spirit, soul, and mind, and why closure is a myth. Then, we'll talk about how you can start letting yourself grieve as a Christian and find completeness through prayer, scripture, and talking through your feelings.

Your spirit, soul, and mind are constantly impacted, and when you face a situation that hurts you, you have to take care of all three.

We respond to physical pain and injury quickly and with appropriate help, but not for a broken heart. These feelings of grief can come from the death of a loved one or even of a lost relationship, job, possession, or other significant life change. Grievers should not be separated because their experience of the trauma, every familiar pattern in their life being disrupted, are the same; they just look a little different.

We hear a lot about closure, but there is no such thing when it comes to a significant loss. Many people will try to replace the item or person they lost, but it is more important to feel complete. One part of being whole is taking care of anything you wish you could say to the person who died or who isn't a part of your life anymore. Ideally, you can do this before the loss, but it's not always possible.

You can't bury the emotions of grief; they will come out!

When you try to bury the emotions of grief, they will come out. Share your feelings with another human being. When you avoid expressing your grief, you will resort to behaviors that will relieve that negative energy in the short term. These include overeating, sleeping, drinking, etc.

Pray this: Father God, thank you for walking through every season of life with me. Your word says that you are near to the brokenhearted. Help me to be vulnerable and open with you about my emotions. Show me any areas of my life where I have been ignoring my grief and help me bring it into the light. I know that I can trust you with my heart, no matter what happens. Thank you for your love and your Spirit in Jesus' name, amen.