Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

December 23, 2013

“Grief is what God gives us to grow up.” –C.S. Lewis

We feel grief when someone we care for passes away or moves away.  We feel grief when a relationship we are invested in ends or grows distant.  We feel grief when something we had hoped for fails to happen.  While grief is not a comfortable emotion, it is also not an emotion to be stuffed and avoided.  Grief carries the gift of growth.  We grow by accepting and moving through our grief.  When we attempt to avoid or side-step our grief, we miss the opportunity for growth.

Am I open to my own grief?  In what ways has grief helped me to grow in the past?  In what ways may I grow now or in the future by accepting and moving through my grief?