Saturday, January 28, 2017

Walking Down a New Journey!


Walking Down a New Journey!

As we think about the stages of life we have gone through, it seems there have been several stages of our life’s journey.  Now I’m not saying I’m old – however, some days I feel older than others or my grandkids remind me that my hair is graying so I must be getting old. 

As I think of my stages of my journey in life, it seems there have been several and many of you have had several.
  • My early years from birth to graduation of high school.
  • Adventures from graduation to marriage.
  • My married years,
  • Becoming a widow.
  • Retirement years
As we go down the journey of life, each stage of our life has its ups and downs.  As we think back to our young lives thinking that life reflects around us.  Each of us has our own goods and bad of growing up.   We often think that when we become that adult at 18 that we are going to change the world or at least we are going to change how we tackle life. 

When I graduated from high school, instead of going off to college, I decided to make a big move from Minnesota to Florida.  I was going to ‘find myself’.  Little did I know that these next three years would be a great eye opener for me and I felt like I had taken the time to figure out who I was (or at least who I thought I was)?  It was a positive point in my life that I truly enjoyed

I moved back to Minnesota, met my husband on a blind date and we were married in May of 1973.  We had three children together who are amazing and have given me some pretty amazing grandchildren.

When Dan died in August of 1996, my world changed and the journey of life took a completely different look than what I had ever dreamed of.  It took several years for me to think about what I was going to do next. 

For so many widows, it can take anywhere from one – three years to get to know what their purpose of new journey will be.  Each of you will travel down this journey at a different pace.  There are so many things to sort through.   With a huge change of losing your spouse normal decisions can easily get lost in the pain and that is normal.   A few things to think of:
  • Take care of yourself first.   You may feel you need to let go of some responsibilities that clog your life that are not really important.
  • Do not ignore your health.   Exercise is important and releases stress.
  • Consider a monthly massage or a pedicure for the lack of touch in your life.
  • One thing I highly recommend is keeping a journal.  As you write your thoughts and feelings, as you go back and read them, you will help you see how you are healing emotionally.
  •  Don’t be afraid to ask for help.   Those that love you will be there to help you with this journey.
  •  It is recommended that you avoid making any major life changes for at least the first year.
  •  If you are concerned about your job, perhaps talking to your HR department about taking a leave of absence or  reducing your hours for a period of time.
  • You may want to contact your attorney about legal matters especially if you are unsure of where you are financially or legally.  If you have a trusted friend or family member, I would suggest they go with you to these types of appointment’s.
As you walk down this new journey of widowhood, Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us:  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.   As you heal, grow, live and eventually thrive.   Even though it seems like you are so alone on this journey, God is with you. 

Take a day at a time.  Find a widow or widow group to connect with to walk down this journey with.  The first year can be painful and if you have someone to walk the path with you, it will lighten your journey. 

There are many groups available to help you walk down this journey.  You may want to contact your local church, your local hospice care facility (https://www.hospicesect.org) or check on line at The Widow Might Organization (https://www.widowmight.org).


My prayer for each of you is that you take this new journey slowly and allow God to heal your heart.  May you find God’s peace in your daily life!

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