"I’m still learning that all my emotions are okay, part of the process, and good for me to feel. It’s better than feeling numb, although there are days when I wish for the numbness to return. Being numb can be easier."

“Real comfort is more than thinking the right things in times of trouble. It involves having my identity rooted in something deeper than my relationships, possessions, achievements, wealth, health, or my ability to figure it all out. Real comfort is found when I understand that I am held in the hollow of the hand of the One who created and rules all things.”

“Our present loss doesn’t simply open the door to glory, it produces glory. ‘This slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory’ (2 Corinthians 4:17). What’s more, this glory is ‘beyond all comparison.’ Think about these three words for a moment. Paul can’t even summon an analogy or illustration to help us understand the glory that lies beyond our pain! He says it’s unfathomable, inconceivable, unimaginable, beyond all comparison. That’s what the spouse who remains can look forward to: incomparable glory.”

“The closer we are to someone and the deeper our bond of love, the longer it will take for our emotions to adjust and mend from the awful wound of death. This is why those who aren’t as close to the person who died may wonder why it is taking you so long to recover … Time does not heal, but it does take time for our wounded emotions to adjust and adapt—much longer than for our minds. Waiting for our feelings to catch up with our knowledge requires patience.”

“There is no ‘right’ way to deal with death. Everyone has their own ideas about how to deal with the death of a loved one. Unfortunately, we often assume that our way is the best way for everyone, when in truth each individual is unique and their relationship with the one who has died is also unique.”

“God doesn’t call you to stifle your grief when you are crushed. He doesn’t expect you to hide behind religious clichés and theological platitudes. God approves of your tears! But He welcomes you to look at death through the eyes of Christ. The comfort and hope He provides do not remove your grief, but they allow you to grieve in a brand new way.”

“Every time someone dies, it reminds us that death still lives. But every death also points us to the promise that Christ brings a resurrection once and forever. Through Christ, death has been defeated … Yes, death is an enemy, but this enemy will die. Christ’s present reign guarantees this.”

“A Christian’s inner peace is never based on his ability to take the teachings of Scripture and figure it all out. Our peace always rests on the presence, power, and character of the Lord.”

"God never intended that we should die. Death feels so wrong to all who face it because it is so wrong. Intuitively we feel the discord, the incongruity that screams, ‘This should not be!’ that strongly suggests there is another way. This clash within is a call to our hearts to believe the gospel."

"The reason many retain faith in God while in the midst of suffering is that they have a history with God. Over the years they've experienced God's goodness and have come to trust him. While instances of evil challenge a believer's trust in God, they don't wipe out faith. Somehow, based on what they know about God, individuals still believe the best of him."

“Grief is not a problem to be fixed but a process to be lived out.”

“It often seems that one of the measures of a mature Christian regarding death is how much we rejoice and how little we cry … The longer we grieve, the weaker we appear. But biblical Christianity makes a distinction between ‘grieving’ and ‘grieving without hope.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Grief over loss is something natural and normal. It is something we ought to do.”

“God knows and understands how difficult it is for you to function in times of sorrow. In your own strength you can lose heart, you can grow faint, and you can become discouraged. But in Him you can find all the strength you need to face your pain and life without your beloved—strength of spirit, strength of body, and strength of mind.”

"So confident were first‐century Christians that the dead were merely sleeping that the word cemetery is derived from their Greek word for a dormitory. Those who ‘sleep’ are waiting to be awakened‐‐awakened on the great and glorious day when the Lord comes again."

“As difficult as facing the loss of a loved one is, you are not alone. God is with you always. He loves you, and He is attentive to every detail of your life. He hears your cries and sees your tears and He understands.”