Does your homeschooler like to celebrate Halloween? Halloween can be a fun time. Why? For one reason, we can now legitimately laugh at things that otherwise might scare us.

Inevitably, we will all one day miss deceased loved ones. However, Halloween can be a time to laugh at things that remind us of a spooky cemetery. You probably laughed when you saw the talking skeletons in the movie COCO! If you missed it, take a look at the COCO movie trailer so you can see the silly talking skeletons.

In Ecclesiastes 3:4 it says, “There’s a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” So, let’s not be afraid to also mourn.

The grieving or mourning process is necessary for the #healing process to take hold in our lives. To not know why you are grieving and to run away from grieving is the wrong way to heal your soul! You must admit you are hurt and sad. You must admit you are lonely. You must admit you are disappointed and feeling helpless. All of this will allow you to heal. Then you can become stronger than before. Don’t worry. Your love will make you strong. Your God will help you heal. God wants to help you heal.

Furthermore, in the Beatitudes found in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who #mourn, for they too shall be comforted.” Some of us may think this is an outrageous statement. Yet this scripture says that those that grieve will find happiness.

Jesus himself mourned the death of his friend Lazarus, whom he told his disciples, he is ‘sleeping’.  Martha came to Jesus and told him that he was too late because Lazarus had died. Jesus rebuked her softly. Then Jesus resurrected Lazarus. As Christians we all believe there is life after death.  This story has a good ending. With all grief, when we invite the Holy Ghost, the story of our lives can have a good ending too.

The five most common stages in the grieving process are called denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. They include:

1. Denial – Clinging to a false reality.
2. Anger – Why is this happening?
3. Bargaining – Trying to find another way to stop it from happening.
4. Depression – Giving up because of feeling overwhelmed and overcome with grief.
5. Acceptance – Accepting the inevitable.

I would add that with Christians there is another step. Step #6 includes inviting God to help us heal. This will help us make our greatest moment of weakness become our greatest strength.

Assign your child to write a brief paper with an illustration on the stages of grief and how it applies to Christians.