"I knew the trigger was there, I saw the (metaphorical) 'bullet' coming...and I stood my ground, determined and dependent on my own strength. I am, after all, a STRONG woman and have been told that by many my entire life. I would take this 'bullet' just like I had the rest. How odd that I would expect it to do something other than rip through my heart. How odd that I would not have prepared myself for it.) That's what grief will do...it breaks you and makes things not work right. Your reasoning: broken. Your "common" sense: broken. Your heart: broken. Your body: broken. Your emotions: broken. Your spirit: broken. And I don't think it matters who you are or how strong you are or how much faith you have, you can not fix any of it on your own. And if someone goes through this grief without God, without the Great Physician, all they can do in their own strength, I believe, is bandage the pain...with overwork, overeating, overcommitting, overindulging, or with substance abuse, self-abuse, abusing others, anything else to try to make it feel better...but it's just a bandage." --Kathy D.