July 2025 Vlog
I’m in Shock!
Today we are going to talk with you about the subject of shock as it relates to grief.
Immediately following a loss, it is completely normal to be in shock. Shock is a gift from God to protect us from thoughts that are too disturbing for our conscious mind to process. But it is important to not let shock go unattended for a long period of time.
According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the first stage of grief is shock or denial, followed by anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, an acceptance of the new normal. Though shock is common, it is a very difficult experience, because it makes it difficult for a person to respond appropriately to surrounding stimuli.
Along with emotional shock can come a sense of spiritual numbness. Nothing has changed in the person’s relationship with God, but because they are impacted spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically by numbness, sometimes people wonder, “God! Where are you?”
Even Jesus on the cross cried out, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” We can take comfort in the fact that Jesus, who suffered more than any man, also felt the sense of spiritual separation from His Father God. We know that Jesus can understand our feelings of shock and distance from God.
The Heartwork process can help to create a safe place so a person can begin the healing process by bringing traumatic thoughts into fellowship and connection with safe people. As a result, healing occurs and new neural pathways are created in the brain.
The question is, how soon can someone in shock or denial begin to participate in the Heartwork process? Certainly, they can begin as soon as they are ready to seek help. Sometimes they may be running away from their emotions and not realize that they are ready for Heartwork. In that case, we can gently invite them to a Heartwork session or a Heartwork Retreat to see if they can benefit from it. Our experience shows that Heartwork can be nothing short of miraculous, even in such early cases.
So, God bless you. If you have gone through this and can relate to this feeling of being numb after a loss. Just know we at the Widows Project are here for you.
We have Zoom classes for men and women. We have a in-person classes for men and women. We have books. We have videos. If you go to our website at thewidowsproject.org, you will find many resources, including some free videos—just like this—to help you through grief.
Also, if you would like to give to the ministry of The Widows Project, know that we run a very lean ministry. You can be assured that every dollar you donate will go toward helping us continue to minister to the widowed in their distress. Go to thewidowsproject.org to donate.
We want to thank you in advance for partnering with us. It takes some who will pray, some who will go, some who will do, and some who will support financially. God bless you!
Mary Beth Woll
Linda Smith
Co-Directors of The Widows Project
Click the image above to make a donation today!
