Grief. It’s so much more than an emotion or a stage. 
Grief is a journey.
Grief takes you down a path of processing and healing. This path is individualized. The journey can be short, and the path well-paved. It can be short, yet an uphill climb. It can be a very long, but smooth journey, or a long and rocky one. It can be curvy. It can even be circular. Everyone who experiences great loss will take this journey and no two people will experience it in the same way.
Grief comes after great loss, usually the death of a loved one. However, it’s important to know that grief can come after any loss that is deemed great to the individual.
I am not a psychologist. I am merely a woman who has suffered great loss in the past year.
I have learned a lot about myself and about the subject of grief as I have taken my own journey down its path. The biggest lesson I have learned is that this journey is different for everyone. It’s important to understand this when you are done walking its path, but it is just as important to understand it if you are still on it.
Whether the journey is short or long, smooth or rocky, you can take comfort in and trust that you are not alone. Remember this from Psalm 34:18 –
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Raelyn Pracht 