The Grief We Are All Experiencing – Brenda Graff

Ken Shuman
Subscribe:

Written by Brenda Graff

I write this with a very heavy heart today after the loss of yet another loved connection due to Covid. I was going to put it off until a better day…but not sure that will happen anytime soon. I would like to say first that I am very thankful for the Keep Calm and Faithwalk On group. It is so easy to think that you are the only one experiencing anxiety and a whole sea of emotions, like Roman candles flying off in different directions, as life is constantly becoming more uncertain. I, like many others, have been forced to either work from home or stay home, period – except for a grocery store run or a few outings – ever since this Covid thing started. It is very isolating and a great challenge for me. I come from a background of public speaking, ministering, and interviewing, whether in the prisons, domestic shelters, schools, or in news reporting. Being hands-on, hugging, holding someone’s hand to comfort or be comforted has been the glue at times that has kept me connected.

This year has been excruciating. The losses are too many to tell. I have felt like my entire life has been ripped out from under me like a rug on fire…like nearly every connection and plan has gone in a puff of smoke. Everything I was linked to that mattered to me, whether family, a pastor, a worship team, church, visiting the elderly, the experience of holding a new grandbaby, are gone…incinerated. I had to give up a salaried position and connecting with others in person at an office, and now our agency is shutting down.

The sudden deaths of people extremely close to me due to Covid has brought much anxiety and constant thoughts of mortality. It is disturbing. I do not really have anyone I can call or reach out to with all of this, and it has been extremely painful. Shutting down has been hard. I find myself wanting to detach from others.

If it were not for the Keep Calm group, I would not have the tools I need to work through some of this. The people I meet through this group have been insightful, and it helps to know I am not the only one. It can be so frightening to have feelings that you have never experienced like this, like popcorn kernels  frantically exploding one after the other without warning. But through Keep Calm, I get the opportunity to hear others and what they are struggling with, and this helps me to understand better the grief we are all experiencing.

I have learned to take steps to do the things that bring me joy, whether it is singing, cooking, or watching ridiculous comedy or parodies. Even though I still fight the battle of shame and anxiety, at least now I can recognize my triggers. This helps keep me better grounded. I have learned some incredible tools through these sessions that enable me to minister to others even over the phone when someone reaches out and is hurting.

I am thankful for the Faithwalking Keep Calm group on days like this…it helps redirect my thoughts and keeps me walking by faith.

____________

If you are interested in scheduling a coaching session, please contact us.

____________

Please consider supporting Faithwalking through:

Giving. Help us reach our financial goal this year. We are praying and hoping for:

$35,000 by the end of 2020 in one-time gifts, plus:

– 60 monthly donors of $15 per month

– 40 monthly donors of $25 per month

– 20 monthly donors of $55 per month

Donate

Pledge or contact us to arrange your giving

 

Praying. Help us by committing to pray for us weekly.

We need discernment, wisdom, and provision of human and financial resources to make Faithwalking possible and accessible. Join our intercessor team.

 

Promoting. Help us promote the work of Faithwalking: like and share our posts, and post about our work.

There are several ways people can learn about Faithwalking at no cost. Help us promote:

The Faithwalking podcast

Spaces for Wholeness groups

The Faithwalking Facebook page

Please also help us promote our

Faithwalking Foundations modules and Ongoing Education offerings

 

Why Faithwalking?

We believe that God’s intended design is for wholeness in individuals, communities, and the world. We believe that God’s hope is for shalom to be present, which includes peace, unity, completeness, wholeness, and well-being for everyone and in everyone. God’s hope is for the Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

We live in a world of brokenness: People are chronically anxious and reactive, internally conflicted, frequently unloving, and regularly unconcerned about the common good. Many Christians are inconsistent in following the way of Jesus.

Our Mission

To make wholeness possible for individuals, communities, and the world.

We do this through a process of spiritual formation where people are equipped with tools to gain freedom from wounds of their past, grow in emotional maturity, and live lives of purpose on mission with God, so that they increasingly follow the way of Jesus by serving the poor, the marginalized, and those in need, working for the common good, and restoring individuals, social systems, communities, and nations to God’s intended design.

Our Vision

Our vision is for Faithwalking to be accessible to every person in the world so that participants become agents of wholeness in their own context.

Recent episodes from this series

A Sound Mind

In this episode, Ken Shuman and a group of Faithwalkers reflect on 2 Timothy 1:7. This conversation was recorded in March 2023.

Positive Declarations

This episode continues our series on Faithwalking Principles by reflecting on positive declarations.

VOWS

In this episode, Ken Shuman and a group of Faithwalkers reflect on vows. What am I being threatened by? This conversation was originally recorded on February 24, 2023.

Keep Calm – AWARENESS and EXCAVATION

In this episode, Ken Shuman and a group of Faithwalkers reflect on awareness and excavation.  In uncovering the layers towards transformation, we discover why we do what we do?  This conversation was originally recorded on February 17, 2023.

Keep Calm – BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

In this episode, Judith Schellhammer and a group of Faithwalkers reflect on building a strong foundation.  How can we do community better?  This conversation was originally recorded on February 10, 2023.