Grief support group

I am really encouraged by the 6 people who have been turning up regularly for the Grief Support Group meetings over the past three months. This group was formed after a seminar on Grief Counseling we attended in October last year. We have decided to meet monthly for the next six months to discuss a book on Grief Counseling recommended by the lecturer and discern how we can help others through the tasks of mourning. The depth of sharing comes especially from those who have gone through loss of loved ones, especially spouse/children. From their remarks, I can see the Lord's word coming alive, "Blessed are those who mourn..." In relation to this Scripture, I read somewhere that, "their sorrow is deepening the channels of grace in their hearts."

Some of the statements made (by different people) were indeed very profound, coming as it were from the crucible of pain in their lives.

"My perception of life, of God has changed.

I found new depth in words like relationship, loneliness, love as I did the work of grieving the emotional loss.

There is no one to share my joys and sadness.

I felt unproductive doing grief work but it was time well spent because I dealt with so many things.

I was not so much angry with God but puzzled at his ways.

I came to a spiritual acceptance of loss, saying to God, 'Your will be done. I trust you have a good purpose.'

I found that I could not erase that part of my life, however much it is a terrible loss. I have to embrace it or else it will leave a great big emptiness.

'God is there' became real for me."

I believe that people grow 'deep' as they go through the difficult circumstances of their lives. There is no substitute for trusting God and hanging on to him (even if sometimes barely) in the dark valleys. In the end, everything leads us back to our Lord, our all in all.