Sister Grief: Defined and Conquered in Jesus

By Yvonne Terry-Lewis

In this book, Yvonne Terry-Lewis shares practical strategies that can help move one through the grieving process, with Jesus as the anchor. The reader will find testimonies, poems, letters, and lots of practical advice. Yvonne used this process to help her move from the shock and pain of grief to a place of healing and extending agape love to others in her missionary work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490806563

Yvonne Terry-Lewis

Yvonne Terry-Lewis is a Christian educator who has written plays, poems, skits, and songs while working with children in the public schools, as well as in her church community. She is a Christian missionary, wife, mother, daughter, aunt, and grandmother who loves the Lord Jesus. She earned a master’s degree from St. Mary’s Seminary in 2009 in church ministries/pastoral care. Yvonne felt compelled to write this book, which chronicles her healing process from grief, after the deaths of many close family members, including her first husband, son, mother, sister, and nephew. Yvonne retired in 2007 after a thirty-four-year career in education. Sister Grief—Defined and Conquered in Jesus is her first book.

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Copyright © 2013 Yvonne Terry-Lewis.

Author Credits: Published Essays -What Consolation is Christ to Suffering?

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-0657-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0656-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915690

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/28/2019

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 S stands for Shock

Chapter 2 I stands for Inspiration

Chapter 3 S stands for Sharing

Chapter 4 T stands for Trust

Chapter 5 E stands for Encouragement

Chapter 6 R stands for Reconciliation

Chapter 7 G stands for Grace

Chapter 8 R stands for Resolution

Chapter 9 I stands for Intimacy

Chapter 10 E stands for Example

Chapter 11 F stands for Faith and Friendship

Chapter 12 Healed Sisters Living For Jesus

About the Author

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Dedication

This book is dedicated in memory of Linda Willis-Burrell, Larry Terry, Michael Terry, Ella Mae Willis, Sheila Pulley, Te’Veria Lee, and Devon Lomax.

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Acknowledgments

I thank God for allowing me to feel His love and comfort at the most difficult times in my life. I would like to thank the following people for their support, love, and encouragement during the writing of this book. During my different seasons of grief, these individuals have been a vital part of my Sister Grief and healing. Samuel Willis, my father, Rudolph Lewis, my husband, Antoinette Terry-Brantley and Kiwana Terry, my beautiful daughters, Terino Brantley, my son-in-law, Derek, Troy, Derian, and Shaqunia, my grandchildren, Vincent and Reginald Willis, my brothers, Asandra Willis and Glenda Willis, my loving and devoted sister-in-laws, Bishop Clifford Jonson, my former pastor, Bishop Larry E. Williams, my pastor, and Reginald Price, my good friend, have all played a vital part in my recovery from sister grief. I would be remised if I didn’t mention a few other special sister friends, Norma Allen, Jessie Hargrove, Ernestine Holley, Rosa Koonce, and Patsy Tillman. I love each and every one of you as well as other family members and friends who are too numerous to mention. God Bless all of you!

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Preface

Grief is universal. All people experience it. It crosses racial lines, social economic classes and religious experiences. Grief comes when we experience loss. We grieve for small losses as well as the big losses. We have all lost something or someone at some time in our lives. I define grief as the way the mind, body, and soul experience and deal with loss. Many people agree that grief is a process that has identifiable stages. These stages are not always identified by the same name, nor are they always linear. Grief counselors and authors writing about grief usually identify between three to six stages. The name given to the various stages in the grief process is not really that important. What is important is that one realizes that certain intense emotions accompany these stages. It doesn’t matter how many times you go through the grief process, each loss is different and unique. Shock or denial is the name I will give to the first stage I experienced. The news of what has happened is a shock to your very being. I experienced some level of shock or denial with the death of each of my loved ones. My most significant occurrences of shock happened after the deaths of my only sister Linda, in 1984, my husband Larry in 1999, my only son, Michael in 2001, my beloved mother, Ella Mae in 2008, my dear friend of over forty years, Te’Veria in 2009 and my 34 year old nephew Devon in 2011. I didn’t literally deny that my loved ones had died, but emotionally in my heart I denied that their deaths were real and permanent. I think most people will experience some level of shock when they hear about a loss. They can’t believe what they are hearing. In addition to the death of loved ones, we experience grief after a divorce, lost of a job, lost of friendships, and other significant loss. Perhaps one learns that his or her marriage is falling apart. An individual learns that his/her spouse has