Grief is not an enemy or a sign of weakness. It is a sign of being human. Grief is the cost of loving someone. – Griefshare Devotional
Sharing with permission. This is a beautiful story of healing and hope. Letting people into our hurting hearts is so hard, but so freeing and SO essential to healing from loss. Thank-you, Meera, leader of UK young adult grief resource Your New Normal, for sharing your hope with other students that understand your pain. You have my respect. 💛 – Christina
The Joy of Letting People In
For many years I concealed my pain within, the trauma of watching my mother die and the hopelessness I felt of growing into adulthood without her. I was ashamed of how her death made me feel: vulnerable, envious, weak, emotional, cynical, fearful, angry, anxious. I was ashamed of the chaotic mess our family had become.
Society praises individuals who are confident, positive, energetic and strong, all traits that I could no longer put a claim to. My social network was filled with individuals with supportive and loving families, while mine was falling apart. Society taught me that this was the formula for success and happiness in adulthood, so I faked it. For years I buried my pain and suppressed the break up of our family, maintaining a thick layer of self preservation, rarely penetrated.
It wasn’t until I expanded my friendships that I realized that there were others like me, with broken families and traumatic childhoods, who had been forced to shoulder on independently with minimal love or guidance. Meeting these amazing individuals gave me the courage to share the truth of my story without shame or fear. these individuals have now become some of my best friends and remain the people I open my heart to, over and over again and every time I do, I feel a little bit lighter.
*****
You are not alone. Others have made it through hard times, and so will you. If you’ve found a way to accept and even enjoy yourself, will you tell us about it? It’s in our struggles that we really come to know God and know ourselves.
Your story can bring hope to someone today.
Read More Stories Share Your Story
Hope Shack 