Feeling our Feelings

 

Gwendolyn Burton is an author, teacher, speaker, and certified grief educator. But mostly she is an authentic voice for those who are experiencing grief and loss, as she has suffered one of the toughest losses known to humans - the loss of a child. 

Through her work and in this interview, she discusses how she began to heal and move forward from her loss. She speaks about finding help by hearing the stories of others which helped her to see she was not alone. By encouraging herself and others to express what is really going on, even several months or years after the loss, she began to see how many times we just try to move on without dealing with the true feelings of our situation. 

She states that while we might offer others space and grace in the journey of healing, we may not always offer that to ourselves. According to Gwendolyn, offering ourselves that space and grace is the beginning of our healing on the grief road. Giving ourselves permission to grieve and sometimes grieve deeply honors ourselves and our loved ones. 

She emphasizes that we should not put God in a box by not allowing ourselves to see signs around us that tell us our loved one is okay. She says God can and does minister to us through signs and symbols that we will miss if we are practicing strict "religiosity" as a means of communicating with God. She also encourages us to drop our fear around talking about the ways God sends signs to comfort us in our grief. 

Gwendolyn tells us that one of the things she has learned and teaches others as she ministers in this area is empathy. She says empathy is essential to move forward in our grief journey and to help others move forward in theirs as well.

To learn more about Gwendolyn Burton, including her ministry and publications, go to  https://www.gwendolynoburton.com

 The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero   https://dotseroband.com

The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com