TL;DR:
- There are days that are going to be overwhelming and full of pain. We have a right and need to feel those days and experience grief.
- With time, healing begins and you experience joy in your life again. Although our hearts may still ache, joy is much more powerful than grief.
Three letters. J-O-Y.
Small word.
Tremendous effect.
Having JOY in our life does not mean that everything is wonderful and each day is full of sunshine and rainbows. Nothing could be further from the truth. If we are honest, we could probably agree that most days include feelings of overwhelming doubt, fear, worry, adversities, and setbacks that often take our breath away.
Our souls have an amazing capacity to hold everything we need. There IS room in our hearts to carry on with heartache and JOY together. Click To Tweet
We live in a world that sees heartache and suffering on a DAILY basis. Illness, physical and emotional pain, a devastating diagnosis, a broken relationship, death, and burdens that are too difficult to bear are obstacles that we may not be able to overcome.
We have permission to grieve ANY type of loss. We should allow it to be conveyed in an unadulterated and explicit manner however we feel comfortable doing so.
There is no shame in grief and sorrow. We learn to carry it with us and to integrate loss into our lives. We have permission to share, listen, cry, shout, write, or find an outlet for release—whatever it takes to follow a path to restoration.
Our tears are an autograph of our love and pain. BUT. They do not exclude JOY.
There is a time when the angst and pain slowly evolve into contentment, peace, and joy.
I cannot remember the exact moment when that happened for me personally after suffering a great loss, but I know that it felt like I had come out on the other side of the mourning into a beautiful realization that the loss was lighter, and I could take deliberate steps toward healing.
With JOY.
Perhaps the greatest conductor of this healing was that I was able to express emotions as I reevaluated the importance of grieving.
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I understood one foundational truth: We grieve because we love deeply. We remember because we STILL love. Even as we move into the understanding of the void, we recall the treasured memories, the laughs, the challenges, and the brokenness.
Our souls have an amazing capacity to hold everything we need. There IS room in our hearts to carry on with heartache and JOY together. We can embrace peaceable satisfaction and contentment. It’s well-earned.
JOY…
Promotes gratitude.
Invigorates perspective.
Infiltrates the heart.
Initiates change.
And one day we will consider and accept that the JOY is stronger than the grief.
About Jillian DuBois
Jillian DuBois currently serves as an elementary school educator in Clearwater, FL. She has worked both in public and private educational settings for over 20 years. Her passion is to initiate, instill, and infuse joy to those in educational leadership through blogs and podcasts. Jillian uses her voice to help foster hope for student equity and empathy. Outside of school, you will find Jillian outdoors, soaking up the sun and surf, or finding new paths to hike with her husband and son. You can visit her website here!
