Send Me Questions on Attachment

What happens when grief arrives unexpectedly, shattering the life you carefully built? Dr. Jerry Woodbridge knows this terrain intimately. After losing her husband to cancer just one day after his diagnosis, she found herself navigating not only her own grief but also guiding her children through theirs.

In this profound conversation, Dr. Woodbridge dispels common misconceptions about the grieving process. Forget the neat, orderly stages you've heard about—grief is more like "having a thousand hornets around your head" or bouncing on a trampoline while attempting to climb stairs. You make progress, fall back, bounce up again, and repeat in an unpredictable cycle that doesn't follow a timetable.

The discussion delves into how grief fundamentally challenges our identity. For Dr. Woodbridge, becoming a widow at 42 wasn't part of her plan. "I made a choice to become a wife," she explains, "I did not say yes to becoming a widow." This identity crisis led to honest, sometimes angry conversations with God that ultimately strengthened her faith through Scripture passages specifically addressing God's care for widows.

Perhaps most eye-opening is Dr. Woodbridge's insight into children's grief. Adults often try to shield children from pain or expect them to bounce back quickly, not realizing this approach can lead to unresolved grief manifesting later as identity issues, risky behaviors, and spiritual struggles. Her experience inspired her to write children's books about grief, filling a crucial gap in literature for middle-grade readers who need narratives validating their experiences.

A beautiful metaphor emerges: both sorrow and joy can coexist like liquids in a coffee cup, with love serving as the bridge between them. We grieve because we love, and eventually, that same love allows us to experience joy again—not as a replacement for our loss, but alongside it.

Whether you're currently walking through grief or supporting someone who is, this episode offers both comfort and practical wisdom. As Dr. Woodbridge reminds us, "You have to heal before you reveal," and sometimes the path to the high places of joy necessarily travels through the valleys of sorrow and suffering.

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MY HOPE FOR YOU
I hope these episodes bring you closer to Christ and encourage you in your walk with Him. Meditating on Scripture, Being committed to prayer, and Seeking Christian community are all essential to helping us learn more of who He is and who He made us to be.

ABOUT ME 👇
I have been a Christ-follower for the last 20+ years of my life, and have seen the Lord's grace, strength, and faithfulness through it all. He led me to pursue a degree in higher education and has given me a gift for the field of counseling.