COMFORT.GUIDE ....."I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips of the mourners..." (Isaiah 57, NIV)
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  • WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!
  • FACILITATOR'S GUIDE
    • CHANGE AND GRIEF
    • WEEKS 1 & 2
    • WEEKS 3 & 4
    • WEEKS 5 & 6
    • WEELS 7 & 8
    • WEEKS 9 & 10
    • WEEKS 11 & 12
    • WEEKS 13 & 14
    • WEEKS 15 & 16
    • WEEKS 17 & 18
  • WEEKS 1 & 2 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK 1 ... OUTLINE >
      • A WOMAN AT A WELL
      • SEEING OUR EARLY LOSSES CLEARLY
      • WHO DO YOU CRY OUT TO?
      • WHO IS HE???
      • PSALM 139
    • WEEK 2 ... OUTLINE >
      • LIVING IN BETHSAIDA
      • SEEING EARLY LOSSES, WITH AGES
      • WKSHEET - HEALING OF MEMORIES...
      • TELLING MY STORY - COMFORT AND HEALING OF MEMORIES/NARRATIVE
      • TELLING MY STORY
      • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 1
  • WEEKS 3 & 4 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK THREE OUTLINE ... "TELLING MY STORY - I FELT" >
      • KNOWING JESUS OR...
      • TELLING MY STORY - I FELT
      • THIS IS WHAT I DO!
      • P.S. - FAITH, FEELINGS & CANCER
    • WEEK FOUR OUTLINE ... "TELLING MY STORY - I FELT" >
      • EMMANUEL
      • SEEING OUR LOSSES CLEARLY - EXTENDED SCALE
      • DELIGHTING IN A VISIT
      • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 2
  • WEEKS 5 & 6 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK FIVE OUTLINE - TELLING MY STORY - "I FELT TO I LOST" >
      • NOTICING A WIDOW
      • COMPARING DIFFERENT VOICES
      • STAGES OF GRIEF
    • WEEK SIX OUTLINE - TELLING MY STORY - "I FELT TO I LOST" >
      • PETER - WAITING FOR INSPIRATION AND POWER!
      • THE HOLY SPIRIT
      • TELLING MY STORY - I LOST
      • MUST AND SHOULD
      • MINDFULLY ATTACHING TO GOD
      • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 3
  • WEEKS 7 & 8 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK SEVEN OUTLINE - “I CAME TO BELIEVE" >
      • WHAT IS ON HIS PALM?
      • TELLING MY STORY - I CAME TO BELIEVE
      • TELLING MY STORY - MUST AND SHOULD
      • GOOD SHEPHERD
    • WEEK EIGHT OUTLINE - “I CAME TO BELIEVE" >
      • A MAN WITH A SHRIVELED HAND
      • WOUNDED HEARTS THINK WOUNDING THOUGHTS
      • IDENTIFYING PERSONAL TRIGGERS/WORKSHEET
      • WHAT GRACE LOOKS LIKE
      • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 4
  • WEEKS 9 & 10 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK NINE OUTLINE - "TELLING MY STORY - I CAME TO BELIEVE TO I ACTED" >
      • THE WIDOW OF NAIN
      • TELLING MY STORY - I ACTED
      • UNFAILING LOVE, AND WORK
      • HE REACHES OUT FIRST
    • WEEK TEN OUTLINE - "TELLING MY STORY - I CAME TO BELIEVE TO I ACTED" >
      • INHERITANCE FOR SONS
      • DEFENSE MECHANISMS
      • INHERITANCE FOR WHOM?
      • A JOURNEY
  • WEEKS 11 & 12 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK ELEVEN OUTLINE - "RENEWING MY MIND - FAITH, FEELINGS AND FORGIVENESS" >
      • TAKING JESUS AT HIS WORD/JAIRUS
      • TAKING JESUS AT HIS WORD/OFFICIAL
      • I WANT TO WALK!
      • GRACE FOR AN "OUTSIDER?"
    • WEEK TWELVE OUTLINE - "RENEWING MY MIND - FAITH, FEELINGS AND FORGIVENESS" >
      • WANTING TO GET WELL, OR?
      • FORGIVENESS/CHOICE
      • FORGIVE/COMFORT
  • WEEKS 13 & 14 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK THIRTEEN OUTLINE - REWRITE - "I CAME TO BELIEVE ... AND I GAINED" >
      • ZACCHAEUS
      • REWRITE - CRYING OUT - SEEING OUR LOSS CLEARLY
      • MY SERVANT
    • WEEK FOURTEEN OUTLINE - "I CAME TO BELIEVE AND I GAINED" >
      • ARE YOU KNOWN?
      • REWRITE - TELLING MY STORY - I CAME TO BELEIVE
      • MUST AND SHOULD W/ SCRIPTURE
      • REWRITE - WOUNDED HEARTS THINK WOUNDING THOUGHTS
      • A FATHER'S DELIGHT
  • WEEKS 15 & 16 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK FIFTEEN OUTLINE - RE-WRITE! “I GAINED” to “I AM SET FREE TO FEEL” >
      • GARDENING
      • USES OF MEMORY
      • RE-WRITE MY STORY - COMFORT AND HEALING OF MEMORIES
      • NATHANIEL AND A FIG TREE
    • WEEK SIXTEEN OUTLINE - RE-WRITE! "I GAINED" TO i AM SET FREE TO FEEL" >
      • HIS PLANS FOR US
      • RE-WRITE MY STORY - COMFORT AND HEALING OF MEMORIES
      • WHOSE PLANS ARE BETTER?
  • WEEKS 17 & 18 - BRIDGE & OUTLINES
    • WEEK SEVENTEEN OUTLINE - "BOUNCE!" >
      • A CHANGE OF PLANS
      • ENVISIONING FREEDOM
      • REWRITE - DEFENSE MECHANISMS
    • WEEK EIGHTEEN OUTLINE >
      • EXPECTATIONS!
  • INDEX
  • TOOL KIT
    • A, B, C's
    • RELAXED BREATHING
    • GROUNDING STRATEGIES
    • PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION
  • CREDITS
  • CONTACT US
  • WONDERFULLY MADE/SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE
    • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 1
    • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 2
    • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 3
    • "WONDERFULLY MADE" - 4

                    EDUCATION

                              "Uses of Memory"
                                                            
                                                               
"EDUCATION" pages are full of thought-provoking information designed to appeal to all of your rational, thinking brain.  These pages are primarily for learning, as opposed to some other types of Comfort.Guide pages which are written more for motivation and consolation.  Let these teachings help guide you to the truth that you are noticed, loved and cared for, even though you might not always feel so!

 
I AM INCLINED to believe that God's chief purpose in giving us memory is to enable us to go back in time, so that if we didn't play those roles right the first time around, we can still have another go at it now! 

We cannot undo our old mistakes or their consequences any more than we can erase old wounds that we have both suffered and inflicted, but through the power that memory gives us of thinking, feeling, and imagining our way back through time, we can at long last finally finish with the past in the sense of removing its power to hurt us and other people and to stunt our growth as human beings.

The sad things that happened long ago will always remain part of who we are, just as the glad and gracious things will too, but instead of being a burden of guilt, recrimination and regret that make us constantly stumble as we go, even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that still lies ahead.

It is through memory that we are able to reclaim much of our lives that we have long since written off by finding that in everything that happened to us over the years, God was offering us possibilities of new life and healing which, though we may have missed them at the time, we can still chose to be brought to life and healed all these years later!


Buechner, Fredrick, www.fredrickbuechner.com, published originally in Telling Secrets.
                                      
“Behold, I will extend peace to (us!) her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; then you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and trotted (lovingly bounced up and down) on her (God’s Maternal) knees.  As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you; you shall be comforted…”.

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like green and tender grass.  And the (powerful) hand of the Lord shall be revealed and known to be with His servants…”   
(ISAIAH 66:12-14, AMPC)



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