The powerful process of healing grief with hope

Practicing nurse, grief mentor, author, mom of 2/grandmother of 4, and podcaster Teresa Davis sat down for a conversation with me recently.  We began our interview with her sharing the nightmare of losing her adult son, Andrew, almost 3 years ago, leaving a wife and 4 young children. 

What happens when you suddenly lose someone close to you

Your emotional reaction depends on the relationship you had… Very often, the first reaction is disbelief. You may be flooded with fear, and a wide range of other extreme emotions: sadness, loneliness, emptiness, denial. All the things in the grief process. Shock may last, as it did with Teresa, a year or more. 

Losing a child, however, is something that’s not “supposed” to happen - and that makes it all the more intense.

Oftentimes, Christian counseling or therapy is necessary, and nothing to run from. But ultimately, it requires “heart surgery” by the Great Physician.

What grief does

• Blinds us to the grief of others

• Sets us up to be taken advantage of by the enemy

• Ruminate over his lies, rather than hear and focus on the TRUTH

• Tries to knock us off our foundation

• Hides all the things that we DO have and blessings can be thankful for

• Keeps you mourning the past and dreading the future

• Robs us of peace in the present

A significant turning point

This tragic event took Teresa to a very deep, dark place. One from which only the Lord could have rescued her. 

She had been spending time in the Word, working through Job on her Bible app (possible link to YouVersion?) when she arrived at Chapter 38, and these words:

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.”

Job 38:4

It was at that point that she heard the Holy Spirit say (paraphrased): “Teresa, I have let you lament for 37 chapters, and now it’s time to be thankful for what you still do have.”

Of course, not an easy mindset for a mom, and one that she was firmly resistant to. But one that she eventually was able to engage with by laying down her pride and broken heart...

Life-giving Scriptures to hold onto

Teresa shared this verse and went into detail about how to use it to move forward (20:22). Such practical material - do take a listen! (She also writes about this in detail in her book; see below.)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

And, later on, unwraps some amazing insight into this verse, too (26:55).

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 

Hebrew 6:19 

Teresa is touchingly transparent about how the Lord helped her move forward in the journey of grief and offers encouragement to young mothers today. 

We wrapped up our discussion with some practical advice for “managing” grief. (35:55)

-> Listen to our entire conversation here.

-> Teresa Davis currently works as a grief mentor, walking along with people to help them move forward on this journey.  If you feel swallowed up with grief right now, she can help you take the next step. Reach out to her at thegriefmentor.com

-> Read Teresa’s book Finding Hope and Healing in the Midst of Grief, on Amazon

-> Griefshare.org is an online resource to find local small groups that can help you find local support.

Teresa Davis is a Grief Mentor, Author and Podcaster as well as a practicing RN. A Wife of 38 years, a Mother of two children, and Nana to four grand babies. Teresa and her family live in southern Indiana just across the river from Louisville Kentucky-home of the Kentucky Derby.

She considers herself to be a temporary traveler in a broken world, longing for home. Teresa’s purpose is helping others see Jesus in the worst this world has to offer.  She writes, “As long as I draw breath I will strive to bring glory to his name. Heaven is more real to me than ever before, because one of my children live there.”  The eyes of grief sent her on a quest to see if she believed God was who he said he was. The lens she now views life from has transformed her heart and mind. She now professes to love Jesus more than she ever thought possible.

She shares her journey on her website and social media. Finding Hope and Healing in the Midst of Grief is a devotion she authored for the Broken Hearted. Here she records her journey of discovering that God is a keeper of his promises.