When we’ve experienced a traumatic event, grief is what we feel. Mourning is what we do about it. It is the action side of grief, the externalizing of our internal pain. And Jesus Christ – who knows everything – says that when we do it we are blessed and will be comforted. Here are a few principles to keep in mind as you work out your grief through mourning.

• Remember Where God Is: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 32:18

• Remember the past and remain optimistic: How hopeless the naked wood of a fruit tree would look to us in February if we had never seen the marvel of springtime. - Lilias Trotter

• Aim steadily at faith’s target and know what you have faith in: The real hope is not in something we think we can do, but in God, who is making something good out of it in some way we cannot see. - Thomas Merton

• Don’t try to be the lone ranger: Grievers cannot extricate themselves from their cistern called grief. They need a rope. Grievers need someone on the other end to pull. But they really need individuals to pad the ropes - not with pat answers or spiritual cliches or even Scripture promises but with hope. - Dr. Harold Ivan Smith

• Do  something with your anger: In your anger do not sin. - Ephesians 4:26

• Go with the flow (of tears): My soul weeps because of grief; stengthen me according to Your word. - Psalm 119:28

• Keep a grief journal: To journal is to heal. This may be the biggest favor you do for yourself. - Chaplain Ray

• Write a lament: My God, my God, why have You abandoned me? Why are You so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to You, my God, but You do not answer. Every night You hear my voice, but I find no relief. -King David (Psalm 22:1, 2)