Honoring Your Deceased Loved Ones During the Holidays

In coping with personal grief and loss during the holidays, there are several practical ways to honor your deceased loved one(s). This short video explores some strategies for keeping the memory of your loved one alive in your mind and heart.

Grief and Expectations

One of the most difficult issues related to grief during the holidays has to do with expectations. These expectations may either be externally imposed or self-produced. Please extend some grace to yourself. Allow yourself to grieve in your own unique way. There's no "one-size-fits-all" pattern that you must follow.

Grieving with Hope During the Holidays

This can be a challenging time of the year for those of you who have recently suffered a significant loss in your life—maybe the death of a spouse or a child or parent. Or perhaps the passing away of a close friend. And my heart goes out to you in this time of grief.

It can be especially challenging to know how to respond to this season of the year that supposed to be a time of peace and joy.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (ESV), the apostle Paul gives some sage advice to this group of struggling Christians who had recently suffered many losses. And it says this: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”

It's my intention over the next few days to bring hope and a balanced view on how to cope with grief and loss during this season of the year. And to do it in a way that's faithful and that shows your commitment to God—that you believe death is not a dead end.