Journaling Through the Grief of a New Season

Leave a comment
Journaling Through the Grief of a New Season

The Sacred What Now?

There is a strange, quiet grief. It comes with the end of a season.

The kids have gone back to school. Maybe they left for university. A big project at work that consumed you is finally over. You’ve moved to a new house. Or perhaps a loved one has moved on.

On the outside, this is a “new beginning.”

But on the inside, your heart feels… empty.

The house is too quiet. Your hands were so full. Now they feel empty. You are standing in the middle of a life that has changed. You are asking your heart the sacred, terrifying question:

“What now?”

Grief for the Past

This is transition.

It is so important to know this truth. This hollow feeling is not just fear of the future. It is grief for the past.

You are allowed to miss what was. You are allowed to be sad about a good, full season ending. You can feel this even as you are hopeful for what’s next.

Ecclesiastes tells us:

“For everything there is a season… a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

You are in that holy “in-between.”

Your Journal as a Bridge

Your journal is the perfect, safe companion for this moment.

It is a place where you can hold both feelings at once. You hold the grief for what you’ve let go. You hold the quiet, curious hope for what’s to come.

yOUR pROMPTS

Prompts for the “In-Between”

Use these prompts to build a bridge from the past to the future.

  • Honouring What Was: “What is one beautiful, ordinary thing about the last season that I will truly miss? I give myself permission to feel sad about it.”
  • The Quiet Release: “What is one thing about the last season that was hard? What am I quietly, honestly relieved to let go of?”
  • The Seed: “In this new, quieter space, what is a small tender seed of something new? Is it a hobby I’ve missed? Is it a friendship I can nurture? Is it a part of ME I can get to know again?”
  • A Prayer for “Now”: “God, I don’t know what this new chapter holds. My prayer today is not for the whole map. My prayer is just for…”

yOUR aCTION pOINT

Your Action Point: A “Thank You & Hello”

We need to close the door properly before we can open the next one.

  1. Take two blank pages in your journal.
  2. Page One: “Thank You.” Write a short letter to the season that has just ended. Acknowledge what it taught you. Acknowledge what it gave you. Acknowledge what you are leaving behind.
    • “Thank you, season of little kids, for the messy, loud joy…”
  3. Page Two: “Hello.” Write a short letter to the new season. Set one soft intention.
    • “Hello, quiet mornings. I intend to use you to…”

This simple act honours your past. It also softly, hopefully, turns your face toward the future.

With quiet grace, Debbera