Bargaining

(taken from "Healing Grief: Reclaiming Life After Any Loss" by James Van Praagh)

"Bargaining is a phase we use as a way to control a situation. It is a type of defense mechanism. A person may make a promise to God that if he or she behaves a particular way, then everything will be reversed, or the scenario will be prevented by some miraculous occurrence. Bargaining, like denial, keeps us from facing reality. Sometimes the shock of loss can become too much to bear, and we resort to this kind of reasoning. Bargaining may temporarily comfort some people as they ease into the truth of the situation. However, if you live in an illusionary world where denial and bargaining are totally encompassing, you begin to detach from the reality around you."

As we continue to explore the stages of grief and examine where we may be in this process, I encourage those who have been a part of Renewal to hold fast to what God has done and is doing in your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your Comforter.