More to come on the topic of grieving

Everywhere I look these days, I see friends who are walking through severe trials and suffering. I have been thinking a lot lately about how to care for them, how to best serve those who are carrying heavy burdens. My heart is so burdened for them and I can feel especially heavy as we continue to carry the loss of our sweet girl. Thus I can often feel somewhat helpless, knowing these dear friends are hurting so much, yet feeling inadequate to care as I would like to.

I know I have held off from posting thoughts, experiences, and suggestions on caring that relate to grieving. Part of that is because I know I am no expert. There are certainly those who have suffered much more than I have. I also in no way want to come across as complaining or as being ungrateful for the multitude of blessing in my life (and let me tell you, they are MANY), or to draw attention to us and what life continues to be like and the struggles that we experience, or as not being thankful for the amazing gift little Addie is to us. However, as I have considered how to serve the many I know who are grieving and suffering, I thought maybe a way to serve them is to post more on grieving. It's something that I think can be (not always) very misunderstood. It's been my experience that friends and family who surround those grieving and suffering have hearts that want to care, but often just don't know how. We are called to bear the burdens of others ("Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2). But sometimes it can be tricky to know how to do that best.

I'm not sure what this will look like, but I hope in the days to come to just jot down more thoughts and experiences and suggestions on how to care. I want to open up the lines for questions and thoughts that any of you may have for me specifically or on the topic of suffering/grieving, in general. Or if you think it would be helpful for me to answer a particular question or talk about something specific that would help others, please let me know. I am no writer and often stumble over words trying to communicate what is on my heart. But, my hope is that God will be glorified through this and that it will help serve others.

I am going to be leaning on the help of others and have already enlisted a few people in this. So, please share thoughts with me! Ask questions, make suggestions, share quotes, and offer experiences. Feel free to email me or leave a comment. Again, not sure what this will look like, but we'll see what the Lord has in the days to come.