“Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where every bend may reveal a totally new landscape.” – C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

 

 

 

What often comes to mind when we hear the word “grief” is mourning the loss of a loved one. Yet it encompasses so much more, including the loss of an ideal, a community, or a way of life. Leaving the convent is a time when we often experience these emotions, but may not understand or comprehend what is happening. For some, it may be mourning the loss of community, the structured way of life, or even our identity itself. Feelings of denial, isolation, anger, bargaining with God, and depression are a part of the grieving process and the human experience, but can be ignored or pushed aside. By embracing our humanity and Christ’s never-ending mercy, we can obtain acceptance and peace.

 

On Thursday, May 29th, we’ll be exploring the stages of grief and discussing healthy ways of coping with this painful experience for those have left the religious life. We sincerely hope you join us as we journey through this “valley” together!

 

– Wendy Macagno, Webchat Discussant

As many of you already know, Leonie’s Longing’s next Live Webchat will take place this Thursday, May 29th, from 8:30 to 9:30 pm. In order to ensure that the webchat covers questions of concern to you, our readers, we’re using this blog post to ask you to let us know anything specific you might want us to cover on Thursday.

If you have a question, comment, or just something you’d like to share with the Webchat Discussants before they go live, please use the comment boxes below to tell us. (Responding to one another’s comments/questions to “+1″ them will let us know which topics are of concern to the most people, so please feel free to do that, too!)

Of course, you can also send us questions/comments via Facebook and Twitter, if you prefer. These outlets will be monitored both before and during the Live Webchat to guide our Discussants’ conversation.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you! 🙂

 

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