Gratitude Doesn't Cancel Grief
The first time I didn’t cry myself to sleep after my husband passed, I felt guilty.
Was I forgetting him?
Was I forgetting him?
When I found myself enjoying little blessings — a kind friend who showed up with a meal, the sand in my toes at the beach, or a song that brought comfort — I wondered if my grief was fading.
It sometimes felt like if I was happy or enjoying something, I wasn’t missing Jon enough. But that simply wasn’t true.
It took me a long time to realize that gratitude doesn’t erase grief. They can exist together. Both can be true.
Our culture often teaches that if we’re “thankful,” we’re “happy,” or somehow “over” our loss. Even in Christian circles, grief is sometimes minimized with a well-meaning but dismissive “Just be thankful,” as if being thankful could erase the devastating pain we’ve experienced.
But gratitude doesn’t mean you’re not grieving. And it’s not a sign that you’re moving on or that your love has lessened.
You can cry and be thankful in the same breath. You can miss the person you love and still notice the gentle ways God shows up — through a friend’s kindness, a moment of peace, or a memory that brings both tears and a smile.Gratitude doesn’t cancel grief; it can bring hope within it. It reminds us that even though everything around us has changed, God hasn’t.
He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
He listens. He loves us. He cares for us.
And those are reasons for gratitude — even in the middle of heartbreak.
He listens. He loves us. He cares for us.
And those are reasons for gratitude — even in the middle of heartbreak.
The prophet Habakkuk wrote these words after everything he knew was gone:
“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines...
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17–18)
Even when life feels empty, we can still whisper, “Yet I will rejoice.”
Not because the grief has ended, but because God is still here — faithful, unchanging, and near to the brokenhearted.
If you’re walking through grief and need a quiet place to process, I have created resources specifically for you in my Etsy shop, HOPE & HARMONY PAGES. These three digital printables work on their own and hand in hand with each other:
30 SCRIPTURE CARDS FOR GRIEF. If you know someone these might encourage, I would be honored if you’d share these resources—and my blog—with them.
0 Comments