February 27, 2008
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You may want to read this now or save as a resource….Embracing the Pain – A Transforming Journey Into Grief
This article appeared on the Outreach of Hope web site. (Ministry to cancer victims and amputees.) This article was an excerpt from the book “A Grace Disguised” which was written by Gerald Sittser. Gerald suffered great losses and shares his decision to face the pain of his losses. Though I have read several books on grief over the years of ministry, I find this book very thought provoking and captures things not mentioned in other books. Even though he had multiple losses, we can all relate as we have our own intensity of grief and may have numerous secondary losses as a result of our single loss.
Comments (5)
Will have to find this book. Thanks for sharing the info.
Heather
Time for reading is so limited. . . I am stuck on EX 19 and God’s voice to Moses. . . He must have had a lot of pain and loss and yet became Israel’s amazing leader.How much we learn from the stories of those gone before — walking thru the pain — and in Moses’ case, bringing multitudes with him through the journey of it all . . .desert, no less. A long hike for a hurting heart. . . No wonder he didn’t want to “speak for God” and had to have an Aaron to do it. Something about being “the voice” which requires scrutiny. And who wants wounds to be discovered. We like wholeness rather than scars. . . I remember seeing my first ‘hero’ of the faith in Poland — white-shirted pastor walking into a church . . . only to be told that the back of that man was marred with scarred tissue from his 10 years behind bars — all for preaching Christ and refusing to back down to the Communist oppressors! Pain comes in many forms. . .and he was rejoicing at the privilege. Pain’s categories — who has listed them? They are all unbearable — except that He says that we are ‘more than conquerors”! Amazing!
rcy: Yes, Kiel is actually Kyle & he is part Norweign. We met on a rafting trip a couple weeks after I moved back from Thailand…my cousins invited me to go with them & he is my cousin’s best friend actually. It was 100% God who brought us together & every day He makes it more and more clear that this is His path for our lives. I’m really excited!
Great book! We use it often in our ministry!
Wholehearted agreement…. and his book about ‘when prayer” …… begins the title. but as a griever myself, who is being restored by my Faithful One…. Jesus…….. I have these holes in my mind sometimes. I did public speaking engagements this past week, two of them, each one includes me telling our son’s life story, and death too….. so my holes are just a teeny bit more prominent today. God is ABLE!! And we don’t even have to deny our grief to journey with Him through it. NOT like our society says. I love your xanga name, my IM name is walkswithme. It’s true. He absolutely has and does, He crawled with me when that is all I could muster up after our son’s work accident and death…. age nearly 19……He comes alongside me knowing me so intimately that He speaks MY language! His name is Worthy!