NO Meeting

We will not be meeting again until further notice.

We are working on a permanent meeting place.  We hope the remodeling will be done soon.

We will post here as soon as we are ready to meet again.

Grief Support Group in Fort Payne, Alabama

Are you suffering from the loss of a family member or friend? Does the pain never seem to end? You are invited to the next DeKalb Grief Support Group meeting;

Tuesday

August 16, 2011

6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

315 2nd Street NW

Fort Payne, AL 35967

This is the Wallace Hall Home on the corner of 2nd Street N and Forrest Avenue.

Bring your family and friends. There is no cost to participants.

This Grief Support Group meets the first and third Tuesday at 6:30 PM. The public is invited.

CLICK HERE for a map and directions.

Hope After Loss

When tragedy strikes, it can rob your sense of hope. It tampers with your ability to believe in the best that life can offer. How can you be optimistic when you know the worst case scenario not only can happen but already has?

First, you have to deal with the grief and this can take a long time. Loss is a powerful event that can’t be swept under the rug. It’s important to talk to someone to sort out your feelings: a friend, support group, counselor, therapist, perhaps even your doctor. There are people out there who can help you through this process. You don’t have to go it alone.

Eventually, you’ll find your way back to happiness again. Whatever happened to you will no longer hold you prisoner, and the fear won’t compare to the freedom you feel to enjoy life to its fullest.

I don’t think we ever really get over a crisis or “move on”. Instead, we grow. We take all we’ve learned and continue growing. Trusting in the goodness of life is part of that. Instead of dreading the next calamity, we hope for impending joy. I know it’s difficult, but I also know it’s possible. I’ve seen it happen.

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou

[from beliefnet]

Death of a Christian

There is a grief that is biblical (1 Thess. 4:13), but it is different from that of the unbeliever. Why?

Well, first of all the believer who died has gained by his death (2 Cor 5), because he is now with Christ which is far better. Those believers he leaves behind grieve (he doesn’t), because they “lose” him. Grief has solely to do with those remaining behind—so they are sorry for themselves—that they no longer have his presence with them. But, unlike unbelievers, they know where he is and rejoice for him. At death (among believers), then, there is both gain and loss. Among unbelievers there is nothing but loss– for both the dying and for those left behind. There is no gain for anyone. What a difference!

Moreover, for the believer and his believing dead loved one, there is nothing permanent about the loss; he will be with his loved one once more when he goes to be with the Lord.

So the fundamental difference has to do with gain and loss—but what a difference it is!

[by Jay Adams]