"Be of Good Cheer" Mark 6:50 It's not easy to be of good cheer when you're going through hard times but Linda and her boys have proven that it is possible.

I asked them how they have survived losing their husband and father.

My daughter said: When I'm down I remember the good times and all my blessings. I think of pleasant things. I pray, I read scriptures and

I will never forget the phone call. All I heard was, "MOM", and then silence! I immediately knew something terrible had happened. I was in tears before she was able to continue with, "Mac is dead!" In a second all of our lives were changed. Our daughters 43 year-old husband had died of a heart attack leaving her with 16 & 23 year-old sons.

The feeling of helplessness engulfed me. I longed to take her in my arms. The distance between us became unbearable. They lived in

What can I say to you that you haven't heard already regarding losing a parent, spouse, or child?

When you lose one of your loved ones it is the hardest thing in life to deal with. You're crushed in spirit, mind, and body. Your loss is unbearable and you think that you cannot go on in such turmoil, but you can, with the passing of time you do recover from the pain. I'm not saying you will not remember the loss and possibly relive it in your heart and mind, but you will get through it and can enjoy life again!

Holidays are often difficult for anyone who has experienced the death of someone loved. Rather than being times of family togetherness, sharing and thanksgiving, holidays can bring feelings of sadness, loss and emptiness.

What can I say to you that you haven't heard already regarding losing a parent, spouse, or child?

When you lose one of your loved ones it is the hardest thing in life to deal with. You're crushed in spirit, mind, and body. Your loss is unbearable and you think that you cannot go on in such turmoil, but you can, with the passing of time you do recover from the pain. I'm not saying you will not remember the loss and possibly relive it in your heart and mind, but you will get through it and can enjoy life again!

Thou knows 'tis common, all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity" the ubiquitous reality of death can desensitize us to its crushing impact on the individual. For those in grief, the world stops with the numbing news of the loss of a friend or family member.

The bereaved sometimes marvel at how the rest of the world continues untroubled with its quotidian affairs when their world has come to a (sometimes dramatic) halt. When we suffer the loss of those dear to us, it ruptures our sense of reality,

At the age of sixteen, Lisa Christy survived a tragic car accident that took the lives of her brother and his girlfriend. After years of struggling with grief in unhealthy ways, she finally began to mourn in a positive way. The Coping Centre in Cambridge, Ontario was a safe and supportive place she could go to begin this journey. Now, many years later, Lisa volunteers as a grief facilitator at the center with the desire to offer hope and support to many other young people who have experienced loss through death in their life. She shares what her experience has taught her.

After the passing of a loved one, family and friends may experience intense feelings of grief. Grief plagues them with hopelessness, anger, despair, loss of direction, deep sadness and a great feeling of loss. Losing a family member or close friend is not something that a person "simply gets over" or even "just gets through"; they must come to terms with the loss, recognize the positive aspects of the situation, and continue on with their life as a happy, healthy person.

When people close to you dies, you have to learn how to deal with grief. The reason for this is that during this turbulent period in your life, you will be overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts that are so painful that it may end up taking over your life. As much as you do your best not to show your pain or grief, it often manifests itself in your behavior and physical appearance. For instance, your may lose your appetite for food and become sickly. You may often feel lethargic or suffer from headaches.

Someone you love has died a sudden, traumatic death.

If you are in the early days of your grief journey, you are likely still feeling numbed by shock and disbelief. This is a normal and necessary step, for it is nature's way of protecting you from the full force of the loss all at once.