When the Upcoming Holidays Feel Heavy

As another holiday season approaches, you may find yourself wondering how you’ll make it through. When the upcoming holidays feel heavy before they even arrive, those thoughts are completely understandable.

Grief during the holidays has a way of making difficult days feel overwhelming before we ever reach them.

But before you look ahead, I want to invite you to look back.

Look at how far you have already come.

Not because the journey has been easy. But because you have continued walking it.

You have survived days you previously imagined you would have never survived.

You have faced anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, and ordinary Tuesdays that felt impossibly heavy. You have endured sleepless nights, difficult conversations, and moments when simply getting out of bed required tremendous effort.

And yet, here you are…Still standing. Still loving. Still hoping. Still moving forward.

When we are grieving, it’s easy to focus on the struggles that remain.

We forget to acknowledge the strength we have already built along the way. Not the kind of strength that makes us invincible. The kind that makes us resilient. The kind that allows us to carry heartbreak and still show up for life.

I have often looked back on the years since losing Melanie and wondered how I made it through some of those early days.

The truth is, I didn't do it perfectly. I simply took the next step. And then the next.

Eventually, those small steps carried me farther than I ever thought possible.

Perhaps the same is true for you.

The season ahead may hold difficult moments. There may be tears. There may be days when grief feels especially close. But there may also be moments of connection, laughter, gratitude, and love.

As you enter the weeks ahead, remember this:

You do not have to be fearless. You do not have to be strong every moment. You simply need to keep taking the next step.

Because the strength you need may not be something you have to find. It may be something you have already built. One day.

One tear. One courageous step at a time.