ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

ed what’s happened and are beginning to move on – perhaps even reaching out to others going through similar circumstances. Setbacks will come, yet overall emotional health is steady. Understand, this is not a “one size fits all” description of grieving.You may not experience every stage during the healing pro- cess. Order and time frame vary, depending on the individual, with some steps skipped altogether. Grieving is as individual as we are. That said, let’s finish this chapter and book with a biblical example of grief. I’ve selected John 11 because (1) Jesus is a part of the cast, (2)The incredible amount of Scripture devoted to this single incident, and (3) the variety of raw responses that emerge. As this story unfolds, Jesus’ friend Lazarus is sick and near death. In fact, by the time Jesus gets the news and arrives on the scene from some distance away, Lazarus has passed.Yes, I know he came back to life on this earth, but that was resuscitation, not resurrection. Certainly, he died again at some future point and will experience a resurrection along with all believers who have died when Jesus returns. For our purpose here, however, let’s examine the grief that accompanied His death, exploring first the feelings you can expect. Note that on separate occasions, Martha and Mary greeted Je- sus in exactly the same way, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21,32).Though both give evidence of believing in God’s power, they question His sovereignty. They knew Lazarus would eventually die, yet doubted this was the time it should have happened. The sisters clearly demonstrate Kubler-Ross’ bargaining stage by voicing “if onlys.” Learning of the death of his son, grief-stricken King David lamented, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absa- lom!Would I had died instead of you, OAbsalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33). Certainly such cries sound out around the world on a continual basis.

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