The Wounds of Grief: Reluctant Journey of a Christian Widower

By Jerry Vornholt

If you have ever experienced a deep sadness over the loss of a close loved one, you will recognize the poems in The Wounds of Grief as snapshots of many of the intense emotions that you felt but perhaps were never quite able to describe in words.

Instead of allowing himself to be bullied into following societys schedule to get over it and to move on, Jerry Vornholt has used his poems to warmly recall how many of the very ordinary events that he and his wife took for granted have now become some of his most precious memories.

Jerry and his wife, Sharon, frequently referred to themselves as a team throughout the forty-eight years that they had the privilege to be together. Several of the poems in this book focus on his intense desire for that relationship to be continued in heaven.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512742862

Jerry Vornholt

For nearly forty-eight years, Jerry Vornholt and his wife, Sharon, were virtually inseparable. After retiring from active careers in the business and education fields, they moved to Florida with the goal of traveling and serving the Lord together as a team. But just four years later, Jerry was completely devastated by the untimely death of Sharon. While struggling with the intense grief that followed, he developed two new goals for his life. One was to learn as much as he could about his wife’s new home up in Heaven, and the other was to concentrate on things that will last rather than on those things that will one day fade away. Pursuing those goals quickly resulted in deeper empathy for others who were also struggling. It was that empathy that led him to becoming active as a volunteer chaplain at the Avon Park Correctional Institution, writing and designing inspirational greeting cards, and writing two books, The Wounds of Grief and To Be Continued in Heaven. Since the death of his wife, Jerry has continued to live in their former home in Sebring, Florida.

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Copyright © 2016 Jerry Vornholt.

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.

Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

All of the poems appearing throughout The Wounds of Grief are by Jerry Vornholt.

Silhouettes on the front cover and artwork on the back cover are by Emma Risinger.

Author's photo by Life Touch and used by permission.

Photo of Sharon Vornholt was taken by Jerry Vornholt.

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-4287-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-4288-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-4286-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016908072

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/1/2016

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Introduction

The Greatest Joy in My Life

Never Leave My Heart

The Day We Met

True Love Is ...

Our Adventure

Traveling Companion

Happiness Is Being Married to Your Very Best Friend!

Cancer

Hold My Hand Forever

My Wife Died Today

Lost the Battle but Won the War

Our Life Together (on Earth) Is Now Past

Sadness

A Widower's Lament

Grief Is Not a Contest

The Face in the Mirror

Wedding Ring

The Empty Chair

If This Day Were My Last

My Wife's Bible

The Wounds of Grief

Gone

Alone

Irreplaceable

Lonely

Life Doesn't Seem Fair

Am I Just Tired or Am I Depressed?

Despair

My Only Real Friend

Grief Is ...

Forgetful Prayer Warrior

Footprints

In the Quiet Moments

Jesus

The Memory Channel

Two Peas in a Pod

We

Us

If I Had It All to Do Over Again

Trails: Happy---Sad---Lonely

My Prayers

Appetizer

I'd Do It Again

Christmas without You

New Year's Eve

Wedding Anniversary without You

Anniversary of the Day You Died

Wedding Anniversary Remembered

Never Forget

Undying Love

To Be Continued in Heaven

Until Then ...

Harbingers of Death