If your divorce process is final, then you are officially a “Survivor” of one of the most difficult seasons in your life. If you are still in the divorce process then it is a matter of time before you, too, will be a Divorce Survivor! When the journey began you may have wondered if you would survive the process? You did, or you will.
People who survive challenging life events such as divorce, death of a loved one, cancer or some other serious health issue, accident or fire, rarely come through the event unchanged. When faced with challenging life events we often find ourselves living from a state of survival mode. Day to day life may seem a blur. It may feel like we are functioning on autopilot.
As you persevere through the process, you no doubt emerge stronger, wiser, more independent, resourceful, possibly more confident in your abilities. If you are a Christian you likely have developed a deeper relationship with God, a stronger faith, a peace that you do not understand, comfort, unexpected blessings, an ability to persevere and endure beyond your imagination.
Surviving divorce is no small achievement. You may just be thankful that you survived. I would encourage you to take some time to reflect on your divorce experience and consider how you would answer the questions below:
How did divorce change you? What kind of a survivor are you? Did you come out bitter? or better? What did you learn in the process? Did you learn some things about yourself that you did not know or realize before? How did you contribute to the failure of your marriage? What can you do differently in the future? Despite the fact that divorce is a tragic event, what positives did you discover, or what good came out of your divorce? What advice would you give someone else going through divorce? What was the best advice you received?
Possibly you have already asked yourself some of these questions? If not, why not take some time to think about them. If you keep a journal, writing down the answers to these questions in your journal can be therapeutic and healing. Don’t waste the divorce experience by merely surviving. Take what you can from your divorce experience to learn and grow.
Copyright 2009 Shelley Grieser All Rights Reserved.
Thanks for the post. Your post will help people with surviving divorce emotionally.