Remember the game, Candyland?

In the game, you travel along a multicolored highway to the big candy castle at the top. Along the way, you can land on these black dots and get stuck in what seems like an eternity until you draw the right color. When you draw the right color, you can finally move on and resume your quest to reach the castle.

Anxiety is like being stuck on those black dots. It often paralyzes your movements in the journey of life. You are moving along life’s road and suddenly something happens. It is unexpected and you experience a loss. The loss is scary because you didn’t see it coming and it feels out of control. When you feel out of control, and do not properly grieve the loss, anxiety can begin to take hold. Then, you are stuck.

So one way to get off that black dot is to revisit the sudden loss, allow yourself to feel it and grieve it. The feelings may be intense, but you will survive them if you choose to face them. Face them because those feelings of grief are your “right color” to move forward. Once you move through the intensity of grief, the feelings eventually lessen. You learn that loss comes and brings tremendous feelings of sadness, but feeling that sadness frees you to grieve and continue the journey. And you don’t travel alone. God is there to comfort you along the way. His promise is to never leave you and provide a peace that passes your understanding. So choose the right color and get back on the road!