Coping with Loss During the Pandemic

Yesterday, I read an article called "Grieving This Season of Loss"* and watched this video. Though I know that our Heavenly Father and our Savior can give us the strength and comfort we need to make it through these times of fear and restrictions, what I haven't considered is that we are all grieving, even me! 

I've always thought of grieving as what we do when someone we love dies, but grieving includes far more. It is loss. It is the disappointment that my neighborhood high school seniors are feeling when all their celebratory activities have been canceled.  It is the postponed vacations and health care, and all the weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays without family around us. It is the loss of normal social contact and the loss of the freedom to come and go as we please. 



I hadn't realized that I was stressed and grieving, but I am. I thought that since I am such a quiet person who enjoys writing, and have had to stay in my home for a lot of the last forty years because of my health, that I was completely "adjusted" to this type of life. I think it is easier for me in some ways than it would be for a person who is used to spending much of their day out around people, but I don't think that you can ever really get used to having to give up your daily interactions. We need each other. 


I am now noticing the loss in my family as I watch my husband's struggle with not being able to be "out and about".  I see it in the frustration of my little granddaughter when she declares that she doesn't want to just talk to us on the phone. It is also our sadness when we try to comfort her by explaining that we can still see each other on the phone, and our breaking hearts when she firmly declares that she doesn't want to talk to us on a phone-- she wants to come to our house and be with us! 

I'm starting to accept my feelings of loss. I have been feeling sad when I have had to get off a trail to avoid being near the other hikers. It hurts to see the fear in others' eyes as we pass. I worry that my one year old grandson won't remember me by the time we can be together again. I'm experiencing sorrow as I miss watching my grandchildren growing up.  Especially, I'm concerned for the children who are wrestling with a changed world where they are not able to go places, go to school, or be with their friends. 

Yes, it is a time of loss for all of us, and we are all grieving. As I remember how the Lord has given me inspiration of what to do, the strength to hold on, and the power to make changes in my life during some very rough times, I am comforted. Though I know that God will help us make it through this pandemic, I am hoping that we will return to a new and better "normal" soon.  


* article Grieving This Season of Loss
video The Wounded Shall Be Healed