Resources for your grief journey

You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. - John 16:20b

We grieve because we love.

How does the heart understand grief when it is broken by the death of a loved one? To survive and live forward, those who grieve must find answers. As we grieve, slowly we understand that grief is not a crisis of faith—it is a crisis of the heart. Here you will find comfort, guidance, and spiritual support on your journey through grief. The hope is that these resources will lead you toward renewed hope and fullness of life as you emerge at last from the darkness of grief into the light of new life, your soul restored through the steadfast love and faithfulness of God.

Here you will find a broad range of topics on the emotional, spiritual, and practical aspects of grief most of us experience. Walk through your grief journey alongside Julie Yarbrough, who understands the pain of grief. The blogs, books, daily devotionals, prayers, and support for grief groups offer her personal insight to guide and encourage you on your journey through grief.

Explore helpful books and group guides on your path to restoration after loss.

Books

Beyond the Broken Heart – A Journey Through Grief

Beyond the Broken Heart – A Journey Through Grief is a dual-purpose resource. It is well-suited for anyone who has lost a loved one to death – a family member, child, friend, or spouse -…Continue

Secure in the Storm

This pocket book is a collection of Scripture verses offering comfort and hope to anyone who is experiencing loss or discouragement. In it there are 150 promises from the Word of God conveniently…Continue

Inside the Broken Heart Grief Understanding for Widows and Widowers

Inside the Broken Heart Grief Understanding for Widows and Widowers is a resource to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of those who have lost a spouse. It specifically addresses many of…Continue

A Journey Through Grief – Life Beyond the Broken Heart

A Journey Through Grief – Life Beyond the Broken Heart explains the journey through grief in a small, concise format. Because it covers a range of grief questions and topics, this short pocket…Continue

Beyond the Broken Heart Daily Devotions for Your Grief Journey

Beyond the Broken Heart Daily Devotions for Your Grief Journey offers 365 topical devotions for grief. Each includes a scripture, a thought for meditation, a prayer, and an assurance to remember.…Continue

Beyond the Broken Heart – A Journey Through Grief Leader Guide

Beyond the Broken Heart – A Journey Through Grief Leader Guide is a comprehensive guide for the Leader of a grief group. The Leader Guide includes how to start a group, how to lead a group, and…Continue

Beyond the Broken Heart – A Journey Through Grief DVD

Beyond the Broken Heart – A Journey Through Grief DVD is the third component of the grief group program. The DVD includes eight short (8-11 minutes) video segments that introduce the Session…Continue

Thousand-Person Army

When we take ourselves out of the crosshairs of daily life and gradually begin to focus again on life going on around us, this is a sure sign that we are making progress in grief. We see things differently and appreciate the beauty of nature in a different, more spiritual way. We consider the world and appreciate that we are part of a continuum of sorrow and joy, disappointment and hope, loss and victory, death and life. We better understand the heart and mind of God because we have grieved.

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Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones. Isaiah 62:10 NRSV

When your loved one died, the ordered structure of life was razed, destroyed with a single, final breath. In a mere second, the labor of love and personal investment of a lifetime together were reduced to a pile of twisted rubble—the remains an odd admixture of dusty, unusable material. Rebuilding to accommodate life without your loved one requires that you prepare by clearing away the remains of the past that do not belong to the future. As you move forward, you discover that your personal reconstruction project stimulates both your mind and heart. In faith you contemplate practically endless possibilities for new life.

God, after the destruction of grief, I hear you say, “Build up, build up.” I hesitate to go through the door to new life. May I get ready, begin, and rebuild in faith. Amen.

I will prepare the site for building my new life.

Originally published in Beyond the Broken Heart - Daily Devotions for Your Grief Journey, Abingdon Press 2012

More Devotionals

It is my prayer that you will experience both personal and spiritual growth as your broken heart is transformed through the healing grace of God. - Julie Yarbrough

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