Free-falling grief in the holidays? Embrace the warmth that heals

Grief piles up for many in the holidays.

Recently, our senior pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Bryan Dunagan, died at age 44. HIs wife, Ali, and three children grieve a sudden loss as the holidays begin.

Just a few weeks later, another rising star, Jack Gibbons, age 36, co-founder of Bandera Ventures, died in a neighborhood auto accident leaving behind his wife, Sarah, and their two-year-old daughter.

Sudden tragedies are like free falling.

Free-falling sorrow
Free-falling grief/Oliver Furrer/Getty images

How do family members survive?

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Free-falling grief in the holidays? Embrace the warmth that heals

Mourning dove: How to fly through grief with hope

Drinking coffee by the pool this morning, I was missing dad and heard a mourning dove.

He/she sat on the power line above our fence in the backyard.

Mourning dove on grief
Medicine for your loss in song by a dove/Jana Milin/iStock

Sorrow reminds us there is a hole in our heart.

A hole that can’t be filled by anyone else.

Missing folks gone from our lives happens in quiet moments.

Here are three relievers to hang onto during sorrow.

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Mourning dove: How to fly through grief with hope

Mysterious Visitor Emerges from Graveyard: Prepare to be Astonished!

I don’t know if I was stunned with joy more than grief when an unexpected visitor arrives almost the same time I do at mother’s grave.

Unexpected visitor in graveyard
Moment after unexpected visitor departs/Mission Park South/San Antonio, TX

It happened at sunset after a long drive from Dallas to San Antonio.

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Mysterious Visitor Emerges from Graveyard: Prepare to be Astonished!

What God Has to Say About Your Great Loss

Loss is really painful in the holidays.

overcoming loss in holidays
Our family’s loss shadows the holiday season/Steve Blaising/Lake Athens

I was in a boat launching from shore this past summer when I got the call.

My brother-in-law died unexpectedly at 57 just months before we lost dad.

So, our family gathers this holiday season with two vacant chairs.

How do suffering folks cope in the holidays?

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What God Has to Say About Your Great Loss