Mental Health Resource
Our goal is to bring people together around the issues of addictions by providing concise, up-to-date information and a meeting place for patients, their friends and families, and professionals who offer pathways to recovery. www.psyweb.com
Participate in a Research Study
If you have experienced the death of a loved one in the past ten years and are over eighteen years old, we invite you to participate in a brief online study of the ways that individuals make sense of and find meaning in loss. All participants will be entered in a raffle to win one of two $50 gift certificates to Amazon.com.
Your participation will contribute to a better understanding of grief and loss. The researchers, Dr. Brian Vandenberg, and Rachel Hibberd, are most grateful for your time and help in completing the study. If you have any questions, please e-mail rhibberd@umsl.edu. The study has been approved by the Institutional Review board of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Click here to participate:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2DTKDZ9
Book Corner
Rays of Hope in Times of Loss: Courage and Comfort for Grieving Hearts [Hardcover]
Are you, or someone you know, grieving a significant loss? Rays of Hope in Times of Loss offers soothing guidance to help you discover the answer to many questions. It is filled with powerful therapeutic narrative, original poems, and photographs that reflect the different aspects of the emotional excursion through grief. In our fast-paced lifestyles of today, many people face loss with little guidance and insufficient time to genuinely recover. This book helps people receive beauty, wisdom, and meaningful answers about loss as they move through the maze of grief, without requiring long hours of study and heavy research. Better than a sympathy card or flowers, show how much you care by giving a copy as a gift to others or to yourself.
Word Cloud
Funeral Wreaths
Grief Poems
The 25th of December, 1980 was the year, came the birth of a child,
who gave the Adkins much cheer.
Christopher was the name given to the boy, which gave this family so much joy.
He grew up so quickly, as all of them do, he seemed to keep growing,
he grew and he grew.
At a very young age, a man he did grow,
with a heart the same size, we all learned to know.
Anything with two to four wheels he loved to play,
to go hunting or fishing, away he would stray.
The 9th of June 2002 was that fateful day, when God decided to take Chris away.
No pain did he feel, as in his hands God did hold, this very big man, so happy and bold.
"A Guardian Angel, I make this one today,"
least I suspect, is what God had to say.
So when things get tough and are hard to bear, close your eyes, and Chris will be there.
With a "Dew" in his hand and that big, ol' grin on his face,
with us all, in our hearts, is now his place.
Copyright © 2003 by Cindy Adkins. All rights reserved.
Sometimes the world we live in is uncertain
in a moment what's known can slip away.
And we feel as we walk among the ruin
our hope dwindle as we greet the coming day.
Faces full of tears, such pain and desperation
you can almost feel it blowing in the air.
Clouds billowing, a cold and sad reminder
of what stood, but is no longer there.
Hands out reaching to soothe the broken hearted
we can't see beyond the tears for the lost souls.
Terror's wrath forever etched inside our hearts now
we question if we ever will feel whole.
And then I heard a baby's cry among the ruin
as I thought about that tiny, gentle life
my heart told me that we could not let this wee one
grow up in a world of terror, fear and strife.
So we must gather round the waterfall of our tears
and hold each other's hearts within our own.
The children of tomorrow must feel safe here
for there still is no place dearer than our home.
In this great country they will never walk alone.
We will dig our way through acts of pure destruction
eyes full of tears but heads held high with pride.
And though tomorrow seems like it will take forever
the sun will rise on this great country, freedom shines.
When I lay my weary head upon my pillow
and pray to God to help us as we grieve.
I have to know within my heart that we'll recover
if I don't, what are the young ones to believe?
And then I heard a baby's cry among the ruin
as I thought about that tiny, gentle life
my heart told me that we could not let this wee one
grow up in a world of terror, fear and strife.
So we must gather round the waterfall of our tears
and hold each other's hearts within our own.
The children of tomorrow must feel safe here
for there still is no place dearer than our home.
In this great country they will never walk alone.
Copyright © 2001 by Ellen Dubois. All rights reserved.
Darkness has come
I'm alone in the night
Hiding my feelings
Out of everyone's sight
Despair fills my soul
Which as a fact is quite strange
Cause inside feels empty
My feelings have changed
When you left I felt good
Like you wanted me to
I looked deep inside
And there I found you
It felt like you were here
Living in me
Giving me strength
To live life and just be
I felt honored and proud
That you were my dad
That I was there your last days
All the time that you had
Brave and determined
To get through this with pride
To keep the promise
That I made as you died
Forgive me if I fall though
I know there will be bad days
Cause I loved you so much
In so many ways
As a father and friend
Counselor and adviser
There never lived a man
Who could have possibly been wiser
I'm so sad and confused
Like a lost little girl
I feel like an oyster
Without its precious pearl
Cause that's what you were
All shinny and bright
Who brightened each day
And chased away night
I'll never forget
And I'll always miss you
But we'll meet again
This just has to be true
With a love as strong as we had
Not even death can keep us apart
Where are you?
Copyright © 2002 by Jenny Harris. All rights reserved.
Lord, clearly you see my struggles; and know too well, my flaws. But even so, You saw fit to choose me; in spite of all I have wrong.
You lovingly saw past my shortcomings, and looked deeply into the center of my heart; and gazed upon the fragments of a heart so torn apart.
A heart in need of mending, by Your love, warmth and care; one so desperately in need, of the Savior’s great repair.
You took the fragments and brokenness; and carefully one by one, began to re-create…a heart that would glorify Your Son.
And as the tears were woven; by Your fingers of gentleness; You filled the gap within my heart of such deep emptiness.
You replaced the emptiness with love; as You engrafted Your signature upon, a heart that was once in desperate need; now changed by the touch of One.
Who cared enough to take the time; that was needed to bring repair; so that now being healed, this heart could reach; others held in the Abyss of despair.
About the author: Visit Tracy’s web site at www.shelovesgod.com/library/profile.cfm?writerid=759
Copyright © 2000 by Tracy Trussell. All rights reserved.
There’s a shadow on my shoulder
That steals parts of my soul;
Bit by bit it takes my energy.
Never leaving me alone.
Oh, at first I tried to fight it.
I resisted it for years
Until the emptiness inside me
drove me crazy with my fears.
At times, I have embraced it;
For the comfort of my grief
Had become so familiar
I could not envision a release.
Like a cloud of empty promises
It covers me in gray.
Numbing me with sadness.
Draining color from my day.
The shadow of depression
Lurks dark upon my soul.
My wall of pain is standing tall
While I shiver in the cold.
About the author: Brenda Penepent, LPN, Executive Director of Healing Heart For Bereaved Parents, Russellville, Arkansas Chapter.
Copyright © 1999 by Brenda Penepent. All rights reserved.
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