Grief Is...

...loving fully and losing completely.

...living with the reality that you will never see your loved one again.

...selfish.

...not something to just "get over."

...a long, painful, and hard process that takes patience.

...a tangled web of emotions- sadness, bitterness, anger, relief, sorrow, brokenness, despair, loneliness, isolation, peace, acceptance, denial. Sometimes all at once.

...realizing that life comes to an end, no matter what control you think you may have.

...puffy eyes, snotty noses, too many tissues, and tubs and tubs of ice cream. 

...realizing that there is life after death- hope for a future, even without your loved one by your side.

...not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, but having no choice.

...your broken heart learning how to beat again.

...present as physical symptoms- shortness of breath, heart palpitations, exhaustion, forgetfulness, anxiety, confusion, headaches, loss of appetite.

...trusting God for your next breathe- unsure of where it will come from.

...losing friends, but gaining new ones.

...asking why.

...questioning your faith and what is really important to you.

...literally doing the next thing and letting tomorrow worry about itself.

...exhausting.

...like an ocean- deep and vast. Sometimes calm and other times savagely overwhelming- tossing you around like a small boat- your only goal to stay afloat and just keep breathing and paddling.

...realizing that God is still good- no matter what.

...realizing that it is ok to laugh and live again.

...offering hope to others who have experienced the same pain.

...a new way of life. Learning to live with the pain. Continuing to move forward, one step at a time.