Here I Go Again

Grief seems to be a topic I talk a lot about.  Unfortunately I know a lot about it.  I have definitely had my share of grief, but then again, most of us have.  I can safely say that everyone has felt a loss in their lives and if you haven't yet, you will.  It's part of life.  We come to earth to get a body.  Then some of us after we get a body, we are given our own share of trials and a life to live.  How we live through those trials and that life is up to us.  Some of those trials we cannot overcome in this life like illness or mental illness.  Then we die.  Yep, everyone dies.  Some live minutes or hours and others live to be over a hundred years old.  We don't know when we are going to die, unless we make a conscious choice to do so.

Everyone grieves differently; it's personal.  I have lost a husband to suicide.  I know the anguish, heartbreak and guilt that comes with that.  No one knows how I grieve and I don't know how anyone else going through something similar grieves.  However, because of my own loss and grief, I can be there for someone when they take that journey that no one wants to take.  I can hold their hand, I can listen, I can cry, I can love and support them, and be there for them.  But, I can't do it for them.  They have to do it themselves.

What do you say to someone who is grieving?  I know the words "I'm sorry" sound so inadequate, but truly they are words that mean something.  It means that you care enough to let that person know you are thinking of them.  "I love you" are also great words.  Don't say them if you don't mean them, but they are powerful words.  "I am here for you".  They may never take you up on that offer, but if those words are sincere, it is nice to know someone cares enough to be willing to listen.  Cry with the ones grieving, tell them stories about the person that has passed on, and ask them questions about their life.  The person grieving really wants to tell the stories and memories that are popping through their head a mile a minute.

My family is grieving today.  My heart is breaking for them and what they are having to go through.  I am sad and devastated for them.  If they want me to, I will walk the path with them and hold their hands, I will cry with them, and listen to them because I love them and I know grief.