How one woman conquered the trauma of losing a spouse through faith
Contact: AnnaMarie Cantrell, 864-504-5616, Anna@CaptiveInkMedia.com
MEDIA ADVISORY, March 13, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- The most common traumatic experience reported by Americans is the sudden loss of a loved one.
An average year in the U.S. will hold grief for eight million people after the loss of an immediate family member. What you may not think about, is that creates 800,000 new widow(er)s each year as well. For married women, the staggering prediction is that 80 percent will become a widow. Author Jan Teel-Nealis shares that even when faced with that adversity, there is still a tremendous hope, in "Grieving by the Numbers: Glimpses of Glory" which will be released Monday.
"Grieving is not something you get over, it is something you get through. It is something that becomes woven into the tapestry of who you are becoming," said Teel-Nealis who was left to pick up the shattered pieces after the death of her husband. "Just because half of you died, it doesn't mean your script has been completed."
"I had many nights with little to no sleep in my first days after the death of my husband, as my mind was filled with torturous thoughts about a future devoid of hope," she said. Even then, she knew that although her husband was gone, she was not alone. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible holds over 100 scriptures referencing widow(er)s specifically, so naturally, she turned to the Word.
As the succession of days unfolded, she began placing entries on social media at the weekly marker from the date of his death. She shared the discovery of the numeric meaning of each week and how it correlated with every step of her family's journey. The discovery of the numeric symbolism propelled her forward toward a deeper understanding of grief and the hope that lies beyond the moments of profound loss.
"This collection is an intimate look at how I managed my grief. Writing forced me to deal with my grief and my memories, both sweet and bitter so that I could process my loss," said Teel-Nealis.
For example, on the ten-week anniversary of her husband's death, she found that the number ten in God's Word is representative of wholeness or completion. "My husband passed on October 10th (10/10) and it was the tenth hour of the day," she noted. Her husband's favorite book of the Bible was John. John 10:10 says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
She shares this and more with readers as she invites them along on the fifty-two-week journey through the first year living without her partner, including a supernaturally-funded trip to Ireland which prepared her for an unexpected new chapter in her life that God had previously kept hidden. "My hope is to help anyone who has suffered loss to be inspired to invite our Heavenly Father to come into your sorrow with His healing balm. He has plans for all of us who are still on this side of eternity."
