🌼 March Mini-Series: Spring for the Soul

💧When Your Heart Begins to Thaw: Softening After Grief

🥶 When Hearts Feel Frozen

“He heals the brokenhearted.” – Psalm 147:3

After loss, hearts often feel frozen. God gently warms them over time.

Just like our feelings, the temperatures in my area have been up and down from the 40s to the 60s this week. It’s been a strange winter anyway. We’ve had very, very little snow and rain, so it is super dry here. Not a good thing for new trees that were planted last fall! But we do hope for rain now that spring is close and the ground begins to thaw.

That’s the way grief rolls sometimes. Our hearts are numb, frozen in the present because of what loss has dealt us. There might be pain, sadness, and great depression - or there might be just a numb sense of feeling nothing at all. Frozen tundra. Hopelessness.

Whatever you or your child might be feeling right now, I hope you have felt some thawing, some growth toward hope. I have been writing since last fall about moving through grief. As you may have heard, everyone grieves differently and on their own timeline. Nothing could be more true. If you are still in the frozenness of your life, don’t give up. Things WILL change. You will start to feel the thaw slowly, as it does take time and work.

🌱 The Slow Thaw of Healing

As a child, I felt guilty when time would go by and I hadn’t thought of the loss of my daddy. Something had changed. It wasn’t that I had started forgetting about him or loved him any less, nothing like that. But life WAS moving along, and there were things I had to do, whether I felt like it or not. Last week I talked about going to church camp, a big help to me during a tremulous time. Then, it came time to go back to school. Daily activities happened, and I found myself moving through the days with new things to handle, new things to look forward to, new people to get to know. Those people came to know, love, and support me, too, so I started to feel again.

✨ God’s Gentle Work

It’s a blessing that God is patient with our healing, because that time can be long for us. Yet He stays with us, gently reminding us of His love and patience. Spring doesn’t rush. It comes slowly. Healing often does the same.

“I will give you a new heart.” -- Ezekiel 36:26

🌸 Spring for the Soul Reminder

Healing takes time. Just like the ground slowly softens when winter ends, God gently warms our hearts after loss. If your heart still feels frozen, don’t lose hope, because spring is coming.

🙋 Reflection for Children

Sometimes our hearts feel frozen after something sad happens. But slowly, little warm moments begin to help our hearts thaw.

Here are some questions you might discuss with a child:

• When was a time this week that you felt a little happier?

• What is something that helped your heart feel warm again?

• Who helps you feel safe when you are sad?

• What is something you are beginning to enjoy again?

🎨 Activity Idea

Draw a snowflake turning into a flower.

Invite the child to draw a large snowflake at the top of the page. Then draw a flower growing from the bottom of the page.

Inside the snowflake, they can draw or write:
• something that makes them feel sad
• something they miss
• a memory of someone they love

Inside the flower, they can draw or write:
• something that made them smile recently
• someone who helps them feel safe
• something they are starting to enjoy again

You may want to gently explain to a child:
Just like winter changes into spring, our hearts can slowly thaw and begin to grow again.

🎉 🎉 BIG NEWS:

Join the Launch Team for a May 12th Release — Be Part of Something Hope-Filled

This May, as my picture book, And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope, is released into the world, I am inviting a special group of readers to be part of the Launch Team. An accompanying hope activity journal, Sunlight for the Soul: A Hope Journal for Kids Walking Through Sadness (ages 4-10), will also be available!

If you have a heart for children walking through grief…
If you believe in helping families grow stronger through faith…
If you would love behind-the-scenes updates, early access to the book, special giveaways, and encouragement along the way…

I would be honored to have you join us.

Launch team members will:

✨ Receive early updates and exclusive content
✨ Help share hope with families who need it most
✨ Be entered into special giveaways
✨ Play a meaningful role in bringing this message to children

✨ Receive a special gift as part of the launch team

More details are coming shortly. I will be posting on Instagram and Facebook as well as LinkedIn if you'd like to join the team! I would love for you to be part of this hope-filled journey.

Stay tuned, and let me know if you'd like to join us. 😀

📚 More Hope-Filled Resources, Just for You

Check out my website 🖥️ at https://marygracejohnsonauthor.com and download the “Seven Affirmations of Hope” for free.

📔 I also have two collaborative books available on Amazon:
Hope for the Holidays: Stories and Traditions for a Peaceful Season (2024) and the new 365-day devotional, A Year of Hope (2025).