Sharing Grief

I've never felt the need for a grief group. I know some churches offer small group support for people who have lost a loved one as the saying goes. I know Marsha's hospice organization has offered such a group to me and continues to send me information and pledges of support. I just never felt like that was the direction I wanted to go in dealing with Marsha's death. Yesterday a woman who is surviving the loss of her twenty four year old son came to the house with her mother, a friend of mine, to see the additions on Dave's house and my house. The topic turned to Marsha as we looked at the furnishings and choices of what is in my home. This led to talking about grief and the experiences we have had. Although I'm not going to sign up for the next grief group it was meaningful to share my experiences and listen to hers. To look in her eyes as she spoke of her son and the pain of that loss and to look in her eyes as I spoke of life after Marsha. We each had our way of framing the complicated nature of our grief process and yet at the core we were saying the same thing. We indeed are unique as human beings and yet we must admit our great similarities. Sharing is good and I know that God will present other opportunities for me to share my grief or talk about the process as it has worked for me. This past weekend I had conversations with one of the presenters at the healing conference, and she said it made her feel like she almost knew Marsha. I like that, she was so much well worth knowing.