A Journey Through Grief

This message is a summary of the Journey in Grief Journal. Its purpose is to provide insight into the experience of grief and offer helpful encouragement to those who have lost a loved one.

It’s been two weeks since I lost my sweet wife Carol. I’ve waited from writing anything specific because I wanted to have time to walk through some of my thoughts before I expressed them publicly. For those of you who wish, I want to take you on my journey through the grief of the greatest

When tragedy strikes, it’s natural to want to blame. We often blame ourselves as well as others. I have rehearsed over and over what I or others could have done to make the outcome of losing Carol different. This is a time when we say, “If only,” “Why didn’t I,” “Why didn’t they,” “I should

I’m struggling with the loss of my personal identity. Now, I’m not talking about my spiritual identity.  We, who are believers, are adopted children of God because of the work of Jesus on the cross. That is a given.  I’m talking about the way in which I personally identify myself. Others may identify me as

Many people are uncomfortable and don’t know what to say or do around a friend who is in grief. Consequently, they say too much or the wrong things or both. Their many words don’t help and the wrong thing said certainly doesn’t help. The reality is that many can offer sympathy, but only a few

It’s been one month today since Carol went to be with the Lord. When people ask me how I’m doing, my standard answer is “I’m fine and then I’m not and then I am and then I’m not and then I am.” Last Friday, I was not fine. By six in the evening an overwhelming

People grieve in different ways. There is no set time for how long we should grieve, and no set way for how to express our grief.  With all of my being, I want to live in denial of what has happened. I still can’t believe that I no longer have my sweet wife in my

It’s been a while since I have shared anything. Probably partly out of depression and also because I’m having a hard time conveying the thoughts I’m about to write. I’ve been encouraged by many to put what I’ve been writing in a booklet form. When I do, I may have to find a better way

Cremation never entered Carol’s and my mind until a few years ago when our dear friend, Burl Mackey shared his burial intentions. He was days away from his death from pancreatic cancer when he said something like this to me. “Now Ken, this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to rent a casket.”

When I talked about moving forward, I said I was going to make a wall designated as “Carol’s Wall.” That wall is nearly complete. I built a 4 X 6 foot frame on the wall and painted it white. Then, I painted the wall inside the frame purple (Carol’s favorite color). All the frames inside

Part of my “moving forward” was to buy a little sports car.  I tell everyone that I’m going to live to be 150, so this brand new Mazda MX5 Miata is my mid-life crisis car. This is the fourth convertible that I’ve owed. When Carol and I married, we drove away from the church in