surviving-grief's-riptide

Good morning…

When caught in grief’s riptide, how do we survive? Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents flowing us away from the safety of the shore. To learn about surviving grief, I google “What to do when caught in a riptide.” Here are the eight top tips one article teaches.

Watch the waves. Remain alert for storms brewing on the horizon. Holidays. Anniversaries. Beloved, shared people and places. Know that these conditions naturally create strong waves of emotion. Even during the calm of everyday life, emotional waves may break unexpectedly hard in one spot and more gently in another. Uneven waves are to be expected in a riptide.
Do not go over your head. Right after a great loss, stay in the shallows, near comforting inner circle friends and family members. As grief threatens to pull you under, plant your feet firmly on God’s solid ground. As long as possible, keep yourself above water and breathe, breathe, breathe.
Continue to keep your feet planted. Feeling strong currents of emotions picking up power, keep your feet firmly grounded in God. Stabilize your entire self on the God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If swept away for a while, torn, tossed, tumbled, reconnect to God’s ground as quickly as possible and dig your toes into who God is, was, always will be.
Call out for help. Call out for help as soon as you feel you are being pulled under, losing control, being swept away by the power of grief. Grief is not a riptide to weather alone, on your own strength. Shout “Please, help me.” To God. To loved ones. To strangers God brings onto your beach.
Swim parallel to the shore. Do not swim straight to the shore you see in the distance. You will be struggling against the power of grief. Swimming parallel can help you break free from the flow of current, which tends to be an intense, narrow stream.
Do not fight it. Grief is immeasurably larger and stronger than you are. Trying to fight its power directly will simply exhaust you. Allow yourself to float on the flow that will eventually swing you free.
Keep calm. Stay mellow, relaxed, float on trust. Try to breathe deeply, slowly, repeatedly. If you panic, your breathing will shorten, picking up speed and anxiety, exhausting your from the inside out.
Float on. Floating on the flow of grief is the easiest way to survive it. Stop resisting. Stop struggling. Stop swimming again the stream. Trust in God’s sustaining power and rest securely as you are gradually carried to safety by our living LORD.

When will grief’s power eventually release its grip? Where on the beach will we end up over time? How will others we love survive this riptide? When the powerful undertow of grief pulls us in, we learn lessons from nature about how to survive.

But now…listen to the Lord who created you.
…the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid…
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown (Isaiah 43:1-2a, NLT).