{"id":12753,"date":"2023-10-02T14:01:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T19:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.steveblaising.com\/content\/?p=12753"},"modified":"2023-10-03T09:42:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T14:42:53","slug":"mourning-dove-how-to-fly-through-grief-with-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.steveblaising.com\/content\/mourning-dove-how-to-fly-through-grief-with-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Mourning dove: How to fly through grief with hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drinking coffee by the pool this morning, I was missing dad and heard a mourning dove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\/she sat on the power line above our fence in the backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mourning
Medicine for your loss in song by a dove\/Jana Milin\/iStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sorrow reminds us there is a hole in our heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hole that can’t be filled by anyone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missing folks gone from our lives happens in quiet moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three relievers to hang onto during sorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Phone a friend <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The dove’s song reminds me of my phone calls with dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who can I call like that now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about a trusted friend? A trusted family member?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharing feelings in a meaningful way brings healing and hope for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not make regular calls to someone who listens and cares?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Remember heaven<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The blue sky behind the dove kindled thoughts about heaven<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A poll by Pew Research (11\/23\/2021) shows that 75% of U.S. adults believe in the afterlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? I think it’s instinct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the existence of hunger presupposes the existence of bread, God would not have created the appetite to eat without bread. In the same way, eternity is a God-given instinct which presupposes the existence of the afterlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”<\/strong> Ecclesiastes 3:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other reasons I believe in the afterlife . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n