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At its heart, grief is the often-prolonged sadness we feel after a loss of some kind. Sometimes the loss is concrete, such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a relationship due to divorce or moving away, or the loss of a pregnancy, job, health, or possessions. At other times the loss may be more abstract, such as the loss of an opportunity or the death of hopes and dreams In the Bible, God invites us to draw near to Him when we are grieving, no matter the reason for our loss. He is the only one who can really understand how we feel. When dealing with grief, our emotions can be complicated. Sometimes we feel anger, betrayal, or even relief mixed in with our sadness, which can be confusing to understand. However, this is normal and quite common. We are complex creatures, able to feel two or more contradictory emotions at the same time. Think of the happiness yet sadness that can be present in certain memories and celebrations – anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, etc. At times it seems that there is an unspoken time limit on feeling sad, after which we are supposed to cheer up and get over it. Feelings, especially grief, have no time limit. Yet grief is something that even months or years later can sneak up on us and bring us to tears or even to our knees all over again. Processing grief is just that – a process that moves more in cycles and patterns rather than progressing through linear stages. We know the reality is we can feel and experience all these “stages” in any order at any time. Maybe they are familiar to you: shock, denial, anger, depression, and acceptance. As time passes, the intensity of our feelings [...]