First Widows

12/20/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DneLp6YHf/

Tonight's Might!
Still one more thing to wrap:
Your arm around someone grieving a loss this Christmas.

We hope that you feel that hug from your sisters at AWM but also want to encourage you to notice someone who might be grieving a different loss this Christmas. You can wrap your arms around them as well.

12/10/2024

2024 is coming to a close and this group has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 10 years. Another year that someone else has lost their life partner, another year that someone is celebrating Christmas with family without their spouse. There are no words to share to make it all ok, other than, celebrate with those who love you the most, and celebrate Jesus because HE is the one that this season is all about. Sending love and prayers to all. I have attached a couple of poems that I believe are appropriate for this month of December. I don't have the time to get on and share much any longer, but appreciate those who do. Keep the faith! Be a light to others, especially those in your widowed circle.

05/03/2024

A good read... https://www.facebook.com/thepastorswidow/posts/pfbid0E2eZFtW1W9eDKdnkvhvQ6nkbwvEFqng1tMjSS13HaKqgUsuSeWNTaUFpiPYK8VuCl

Today is National Widow’s Day. We don’t need a day to remember we are widows, but perhaps the rest of the world does. Or perhaps we just need to be reminded that there are others out there who are struggling, too. Being a widow doesn’t exempt me from obedience. We are all called to mourn with those who mourn….even when it’s a sacrifice.

Here are some ideas for how we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to a widowed friend today…

1. Speak her (or his!) spouse’s name.
2. Share your favorite memory of them.
3. Allow her to talk about him. Ask questions!
4. Offer to take their kids out for ice cream. Or dinner. Or anything that will make the family feel loved.
5. Pick a day and tell her you’re coming over to check off items on a household to-do list. Do something that would be hard for her to do herself.
6. Just take time to be present. Time = love. Loneliness is a struggle for her.
7. Offer a real hug. It could be a long time since she’s had one.
8. Find small (or big!) ways to show her she is not forgotten, and neither is her person.

If you take this challenge, comment below. I’d love to hear about it! If every person took the time to love on one widow or widower today, think of what a difference we could make!

Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭

04/15/2024

I never got to see this movie at the theater, but after seeing Chonda when she was in our town, I wanted to see her movie. Gosh, she tells about things in her life that I didn't know. When she lost her husband 10 years ago, she tells in this movie and all the details of their life together. She is so real and brings all the things she endured in her life into joy somehow. We have to keep laughing even in the darkest places of our life, as when losing our spouse. Its a good watch especially if you have followed Chonda Pierce.

An intimate look into the life of America's #1 female comedian (13 gold/platinum DVDs), Chonda Pierce. This docu-comedy follows Chonda on an emotional roller...

03/19/2024

12/08/2023

As I embarked on the challenging journey of the holiday season as a widow, I found myself contemplating how I would navigate the Christmas festivities without my husband's presence.

As I looked ahead to family gatherings I wondered how in the world I would ever get through them without ruining everyone else’s day. I never knew when the emotions would boil over and the tears would fall from my eyes. Can you relate?

Experiencing difficult emotions during the holidays is normal; allow yourself to feel them without resistance. When emotions overwhelm you, find solace in God's presence. You do not need to carry this burden alone.

"Come to me, all of you who are weary... I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28-29 NLT

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble..." Psalm 46:1-3, 7 NIV

For more tips in navigating this holiday season, read the entire story here:
https://awidowsmight.org/womens-christian-devotional/breath-of-life.html

11/08/2023

Reading thru the griefshare emails again, after the loss of a nephew in June. The last few days have been about the loss of a spouse. Have not posted in a while, so hope this helps someone with a recent loss. God is surely always with us even in the confusion and fog of such a loss. My prayers are always for the Widowed. Being one, certainly touches our hearts in a way we never imagined. Enjoy this beautiful day God has given us and always remember to be a friend to others and share a hug!

No Longer a Couple
Day 123

Many things in society today are couple oriented, and you are probably very conscious of and disturbed by the fact that you are no longer part of a couple.

“Socially, you feel like an outcast. You go into a group you used to be part of as a couple, and all of a sudden you feel so alone,” says Rev. John Coulombe.

This feeling of loneliness and the consciousness that you are not part of a couple may cause you to avoid going into group situations where most of the other people are couples. God disagrees with the idea that three’s a crowd. He reveals in His Word that great strength is available when three people come together.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Give your friends a chance, and don’t think you are no longer welcome because your spouse is not with you. Let God give you the courage to go into situations in which you may feel awkward or unwanted.

Powerful God, I’ve been prejudging my friends and assuming they don’t really want me around. My relationships with friends are different now, but different does not mean less loving or caring. Clear my vision to see how these relationships can become fuller and deeper because of You. Amen.

Grieving with Hope
This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they’re grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope.

04/13/2023

Put your wedding rings on ladies and keep them on until God sends you a mate if that's your desire

02/14/2023

Hope everyone has had a nice Valentines Day. I know it is not the same when we don't have our spouse to celebrate. Some like Valentines Day, some celebrate, some don't. Just another holiday of FIRSTS even if it is the 1st, 2nd or 25th. Still makes it different. Love to all. You were thought of today!

12/31/2022

“DON'T DIE WITH YOUR DEAD.

Did you know that when you cry for your dead, you cry for you and not them?

You cry because you “lost them”, because you don’t HAVE THEM by your side. You think it all ends in death. And you think they are NOT anymore.

So if your dead no more, where are they?.

Yes they have left, or they are now somewhere else, is that place better than this?.

Yes, definitely that place is better than this; so Why do you suffer for their departure?.

When you have finished accepting that they are no longer "NOT here", but they are still in another place even better than this, for they’re where they are no longer sick, or suffering.

Then you'll stop mourning them and you'll get them back in memory so they keep accompanying you with the joy of all that you've lived.

If you truly loved them LOVE them AGAIN and this time with greater strength, with greater purity, with greater delivery.

Today, there will be no more reproach of any kind.

Only LOVE, will be the essence between you, between us, between them.

I respect your pain, and the way you express it. I know you cry and you will cry without comfort.

But .. Today I say to you:
Don't die with your dead.

Remember we are only seeing one side of the coin (death).

We are not looking the other way; we are not seeing the wonderful place of light where they stand.

What if we start seeing “death” as a Second Birth?

Second Birth we ALL will go through.

Don't die with your dead, honor them by living your life as they would have wanted you to. , let them transcend. And you keep living.”

09/14/2022

The world around us wants us to move on. We will never move on or forget. But we have to move forward. Sometimes its baby steps, sometimes is with wings of angels around us but moving forward ever how you can is how we embrace life and love and remember we are still here with purpose. Whether its to watch a grandchild or child grow up, to bring someone to Christ, or something just as significant.

Cheryl

09/14/2022

Worth a watch.