Margaret Brownley - Grieving Gods Way: The Path to Lasting Hope and Healing

PRAISE FOR
GRIEVING GODS WAY

Margaret Brownley, with great insight and compassion, fashions ordinary words into loving images that penetrate into the deepest regions of the heart to soften our pain and give us hope.

LOYA M. COFFIN
LIVING WITH LOSS MAGAZINE

Through Margaret Brownleys talented insights, daily occurrences take on new perspectives, softening griefs pain and turning hearts in new directions.

ANDREA GAMBILL
HELPED TO ORGANIZE THE FIRST NATIONAL BOARD OF
DIRECTORS FOR THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS

Margaret Brownley offers those who grieve sympathetic support informed by hard-won insights into the timeless truths found in Gods Word. Margaret has gone through the valley of the shadow and emerged with a message of comfort and hope. This is a book not just for people of faith but for those who are questioning, disillusioned, or otherwise authentically seeking the comfort and help of God. I cannot think of a more helpful book for those who grieve.

PASTOR JEFF CHEADLE
STONEBRIDGE COMMUNITY CHURCH; SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

Why just go through your grief when you can grow through your grief by using the helpful guidelines Margaret Brownley presents in Grieving Gods Way? Margarets insightful writing and Diantha Ains inspiring haiku point the way through grief to new life. As a woman who has experienced the grief of losing a husband and three children in a plane crash, I can say a loud amen to all that is written in this book.

DIANE BRINGGOLD BROWN
AUTHOR OF LIFE INSTEAD

Margaret Brownley and Diantha Ain are two multitalented women who understand the heaviness of grief, having each lost a child. They also understand the healing power of friendship, faith, love, and just being there. If you or someone you know has suffered a recent loss, or is still hurting from a past loss, I highly recommend this book. Im a longtime fan of both of these writers. Their caring hearts, together with their gift of words, will make the journey to healing a little easier for grieving souls.

MARTHA BOLTON
FORMER STAFF WRITER FOR BOB HOPE AND
AUTHOR OF MORE THAN FIFTY BOOKS

In Grieving Gods Way, Ms. Brownley writes with a smooth and elegant style acutely profound in genuine feeling as she dispenses helpful advice. An excellent book embracing the boundless promise of faith. Highly recommended.

SHERRY RUSSELL
GRIEF MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST AND AUTHOR OF
CONQUERING THE MYSTERIES AND LIES OF GRIEF

GRIEVING GODS WAY

GRIEVING GODS WAY
The Path to Lasting Hope and Healing

MARGARET BROWNLEY
HAIKU BY DIANTHA AIN

2012 Margaret Brownley

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version.
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version. 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brownley, Margaret.
Grieving Gods way : the path to lasting hope and healing : a 90-day devotional /
Margaret Brownley ; haiku by Diantha Ain.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-8499-4722-3 (trade paper)

1. GriefReligious aspectsChristianityPrayers and devotions. 2. Bereavement
Religious aspectsChristianityPrayers and devotions. I. Title.
BV4905.3.B75 2012
242'.4dc23

2011052247

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 QG 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my son Kevin, in loving memoryuntil we meet again.

Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.

PSALM 25: 4 NKJV

When grieving Gods way,
our faith becomes a beacon
that guides our footsteps.

Contents

MANS WAY

Numb Rather than Heal the Pain.

GODS WAY

Heal Through Healthy Choices.

Listen closely to my words.... for they are life to those
who find them and health to a mans whole body.

PROVERBS 4 :20, 22

Introduction to Part 1

Toning my muscles
energizes my psyche,
which comforts my soul.

When a loved one dies, the body reacts with shock. The circulation slows; we feel cold and disoriented. Breathing is shallow. After the numbness wears off, bones ache and muscles are sore. Food holds no interest, and though we may fall exhausted into bed each night, we often cant sleepor sleep too much. This is how the body grieves.

God created this phase to allow us to adjust mentally, physically, and emotionally to our loss. It would be a great shock to the system to absorb the loss of a loved one all at one time.

Many people neglect to take care of themselves during the early months of grief. Worse, some try to deaden the pain with alcohol or drugs. Studies show that neglecting health during bereavement puts us at a higher risk for cancer, heart disease, and depression. Substance abuse prevents healing altogether.

Grieving Gods way requires us to trust that God will lead us through the darkness, heal our pain, take away our weariness, and fill our hearts with hope, peace, and new purpose.

Healing Day 1
What Is This Thing Called Grief?

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

The nature of grief sends us into a cave of despair. We have no desire to see or do anything. This is Gods way of protecting us until we are strong enough and courageous enough to face life again.

The tears shed in grief allow for crystal-clear vision, illuminating friends and family through wiser, more loving eyes.

The darkness of grief allows us to follow even the dimmest light of faith to the source of all hope.

The stillness of grief is an invitation to sail into the inner self and explore the harbor of forgotten goals and still-cherished dreams.

The reality of grief helps us find new purpose and meaning in life, a new reason for being.

The permanence of grief is reassuring. Experiencing grief and seeing others grieve tell us that we will not be forgotten after death. This encourages us to live and relate to others in ways that will have an impact on lives long after we have left this world.