Healing: One Step At A Time

Find Support for Your Healing After Loss Journey

As we head into session nine of Rebuild, we take a closer look at what healing after loss can actually look like in everyday life. Our focus is on finding a new normal as we learn to live with grief while noticing how we have changed. Dr. Earl A. Grollman, a pioneer in crisis intervention and a certified death educator, once said, “Grief is not a disorder, a disease, or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.”

It’s honest and true. But even as grief reshapes us, we are not left without direction. Throughout this series, we’ve returned to this gentle reminder:
“Everything is normal, but not everything is helpful. Do helpful things.”

Grief may change us, but it doesn’t end our story. Healing often begins with small choices—practical steps that slowly widen our world again. So what might it look like to do something helpful?

Explore Through Reading to Support Healing After Loss

One of the gentlest ways to move forward is by learning from others who have walked a similar road. Books can become companions—voices reminding you that you are not alone and that healing, while slow, is possible.

One of my personal favorites is A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss by Jerry L. Sittser. Jerry lost his mom, wife, and daughter in a single accident caused by a drunk driver. His reflections carry weight because they were forged in deep sorrow. His honesty and resilience offer a quiet wisdom that can strengthen you for your own journey.

Reading stories like his can help you better understand your own—its valleys, its questions, and even its moments of unexpected grace. God often meets us through the words and experiences of others.

Find Support for Your Healing After Loss Journey

You were never meant to carry grief alone.
Community is one of the primary ways God cares for the brokenhearted.

Support can come in many forms—family and friends, others further along in their grief journey, church communities, grief groups for different types of loss (such as suicide survivors, bereaved parents, siblings, drug overdose, widows or widowers), grief coaching, or professional counseling.

While not exhaustive, I’ve compiled a list of resources for those grieving a wide range of losses. As you reflect on your own journey, consider where God might be inviting you to find strength, encouragement, or companionship. Sometimes the most healing step we can take is allowing others to walk with us.

Serve Others as a Step in Healing After Loss

Serving others can be a quiet yet powerful step forward in grief. As one anonymous saying reminds us, “When we help another person, we heal ourselves.” Research supports what Scripture has long shown—acts of service lessen loneliness, lift our mood, and renew our sense of purpose.

Service doesn’t have to be big or complicated. Small, meaningful actions—writing a note, bringing a meal, volunteering a little of your time—can remind you that your story still has something to offer. Some even choose to serve in honor of the one they lost.

A dear friend of mine did this through a project she called Bubba Bags—a simple way to bless others while keeping her loved one’s memory alive. Her grief didn’t disappear, but it softened as she poured compassion into others.

Serving others won’t erase sorrow, but it can open a window of light on days when everything feels dim. In giving to others, we often find that God gently gives something back to us as well.

Reflection Questions

1. Which of these helpful steps feels most doable as part of your healing after loss right now?
2. What kind of support or community am I longing for—and where might I begin to find it?
3. Is there someone I could encourage or serve this week, even in a small way, as a step toward healing or in honor of my loved one?

As you reflect, remember: healing rarely comes all at once. It comes one small, grace-filled step at a time. If this encouraged you, share it with someone who needs hope today.