Mary Lou Cheatham

"I'm choking."

What does that mean? It could mean you've cried so hard that it's impossible to swallow. There's a choking feeling in your throat and chest. You know the feeling. If you have a choking sensation, it may be time to call 9-1-1 to make sure you are not having a heart attack. It is no coincidence that we have expressions such as "died of a broken heart" and "heartbroken". Sometimes these expressions are literal, not figurative.

"But life moves on along the path of grief."

No matter how much you may want to turn back time - or perhaps you just want all the sadness to go away long enough for you to recover a few minutes or for a night of dream-free sleep - life moves on. Time rushes on. Life moves on along relentlessly along the path of grief.

The process of grieving is like walking through a murky swamp. In this audiobook, I want to talk with you about the way it feels. There's no way I can know exactly what you are going through, not even if we could sit and talk and you could tell me. I will tell you though that I have experienced grief and known many other dear ones who have.

Certain aspects of grieving are the same for almost everybody. Even though each grief journey is unique, every person grieving shares some of the same feelings. Please understand that you are not alone. It's okay to cry.

We have these words found in Romans 8:28 (KJV): "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." We can trust that everything that happens to us - even if it is the saddest thing we could dream of - has already been approved by our father, his son, and the Holy Spirit. God loves us more than we can imagine. When bad things are happening to us, our loving father is working out something good for us.