I had to acknowledge the reality and legitimacy of my grief and its effects. Facing present realities. I had to face the fact that I was no longer in Papua New Guinea and that there was a gap in my capacity to function in my job and in the home community. The challenge was to make friends with those tigers, which involved tow more steps. Drawing a healthy line on the past.
Funerals are a public acknowledgment of a death.
For those who are grieving, it is a painfully drawn line signally not only a an end, but also a beginning. I was wondering whether I could return to PNG, I could not commit myself to settling down at home. This may be the most common hindrance to adjustment faced by returned missionaries. The idea that overseas service is best and therefore anything else must be second best contributes to the problem. This also reflects the deeply held view of many career missionaries.