By Pastor Terrye Moore
Reflecting on the early days after losing my husband, I can still hear the therapist’s words so clearly:
“So, what does your new normal look like?”
Her question felt like a verbal assault on my already fragile psyche. I remember thinking, Lady, I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t plan for this—even though I repeated the words “’til death do us part” at the altar.
In losing my husband, I came to understand the depth of emotion that could drive a woman to leap onto a funeral pyre, ending her life in a blaze of grief. What I was experiencing was certainly new, but it was far from anything I would ever call normal.
Will I ever be normal again? I wondered.
And yet, somehow—through God’s gift of time and His magnificent power and love—I began to discover a new normal…and a life still worth living.
Grief is a hard place, but it is not impenetrable. We can pass through it and reach the other side—with God’s help and the support of others who have survived what Joan Didion calls “the year of magical thinking.”
On April 17, I will facilitate a retreat day at Bon Secours especially for widows. This retreat, The Widow’s Might, is an invitation to step away from the wilderness of widowhood and enter a sacred space of healing and hope. Together, we will reflect, share, and gently rediscover the strength God has already placed within us.
If you are wondering whether life can ever feel whole again, we invite you to come. You are not alone and there is a path forward with renewed strength, and hope for tomorrow.
The Widow’s Might – A Retreat Day for Widows on April 17 at 9:30 am – 4:00 pm. To register, use the link below: https://bonsecoursrcc.org/event/the-widows-might-a-retreat-day-for-widows/