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A reminder with this week's recommendations that Pastor Cathy serves as a chaplain for Vitas, an organization that specializes in hospice and palliative care.
Last Sunday we talked about Jesus crying with his friends, Mary & Martha when their brother, Lazarus died. Below is The Mourner’s Bill of Rights, which empowers one to heal within healthy boundaries.
Though you should reach out to others as you do the work of mourning, you should not feel obligated to accept the unhelpful responses you may receive from some people. You are the one who is grieving, and as such, you have certain “rights” no one should try to take away from you.
The following list is intended both to empower you to heal and to decide how others can and cannot help. This is not to discourage you from reaching out to others for help, but rather to assist you in distinguishing useful responses from hurtful ones.
- You have the right to experience your own unique grief.
- You have the right to talk about your grief.
- You have the right to feel a multitude of emotions.
- You have the right to be tolerant of your physical and emotional limits.
- You have the right to experience “griefbursts."
- You have the right to make use of ritual.
- You have the right to embrace your spirituality.
- You have the right to search for meaning.
- You have the right to treasure your memories.
- You have the right to move toward your grief and heal.
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