#123: God, Grace + Emotions: Sustaining grace in grief with Lisa Appelo

Maybe your grief is that a child leaves for college this month. Maybe it’s that your husband’s new job requires him to travel every week, so you feel like a single parent. Maybe you’re grieving the end of a long-time friendship.

As you listen, ask yourself, “What grief do I face today?” Then allow yourself the space and time to talk with your friend Jesus about it.

Lisa shares how:

God’s grace sustains us in grief,
It’s okay if you’re not “over” your grief,
You can help your children navigate grief
And SO MUCH MORE!

Key Quotes

“If we will do the hard work of grief, we can begin to see life flourish again in new ways.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“Grief was learning to live with the love and without my loved one.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“We don’t just dump out our emotions. The process (of lament) is to take those questions and emotions to God but then to say, “But I trust you.’” – Author Lisa Appelo
“Part of lament is just unburdening our heart.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“If we do not process grief on our terms now, it’s going to come back on its terms later.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“I couldn’t carry my children’s grief but that I would walk with them in it.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“When we mask grief or try to escape it or fake it, a lot of times, we can turn bitter because we haven’t allowed God to be sovereign.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“Grief takes up so much space.” – Author Lisa Appelo
“God doesn’t give us second best. He would never give His children leftovers of a life.” – Author Lisa Appelo

As Mentioned in the Podcast

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Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
Life Can Be Good Again by Lisa Appelo
Grace In Real Life podcast Episode 108: Processing grief when you’d rather avoid it with Katie Rössler

About Lisa Appelo

Speaker, author, and Proverbs31 Executive Team Member Lisa Appelo joins the show. Lisa inspires women to cultivate faith in life’s storms and is the author of Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After It All Falls Apart.

A former litigating attorney, Lisa is passionate about rich Bible teaching. She writes at the popular site LisaAppelo.com, founded a team of writers at hopeingrief.com, and serves on the Executive Team for COMPEL with Proverbs31Ministries.

As a single mom of seven, Lisa’s days are filled with parenting, ministry, and long walks to justify lots of dark chocolate.