Yes, it’s Thanksgiving but somebody is already full from the heaviness and tears of grief. You’re sitting alone or maybe you’re surrounded by family, yet you still feel as though you’re by yourself.
Grief is tugging hard on your heart and you’re trying. You’ve put on a brave face to cook. You smile and nod when someone says something. You sing along with the songs. You even have your outfit laid out for the living room when all you really want to do is crawl back into bed.
I feel you. Grief does that because it’s sneaky, it’s crippling, it’s confusing and it hurts. But here’s what I know. You can live with it. Yes, as hard as it is to go on with a void in your life, you can. In fact, you’ve been doing it. Every day you get up with a broken heart, but you’re doing it. You raise your head from a tear-stained pillow, shower with tears falling, then you get dressed with the deep breaths that calm you, but you’re doing it. Because grief isn’t something you get over. Grief is what you go through.
So, stop feeling guilty for enjoying the moment. Just because you laugh, and live, it doesn’t mean you aren’t grieving. It means you’re alive. I also believe that your loved one would want you to carry on. Use their memory to do just that. You can cry today, and every day beloved, but get up. You owe it to them to carry on.
And know that I’m praying for you.
Lakisha, the Author 