HAL BRADY: A Word About Grief

I had concluded the funeral service, and he just sat there staring into space. His wife and children were gathered around him, desperately trying to lend their support. He must have been in his early 50s, and he was totally distraught over the death of his mother. This man was literally held captive by grief. Finally, he managed to walk with his wife out into the cemetery. After a few moments, I eased up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. Amidst his sobbing, he asked, “Why did God take my mama? She loved life. I don’t like God.” I replied, “I really don’t have an answer to your questions. But I do believe that God is in this with you because of God’s love experienced through the cross of Christ. And God understands your anger, and it’s all right." With this man’s experience and all the sadness of societal grief and loss of family members, friends, acquaintances and others, I’ve decided to say a few words about grief, and how we might help ourselves.

1) We can remember the resurrection! Writing in his book “In Search of Stones,” the late M. Scott Peck said, “Never in my wildest imagination have I thought that I could best (death). Even Jesus didn’t beat it. All he did was painfully hang around for a little bit in an ethereal, barely recognizable form to make a point. The point of resurrection is not that we can beat death, it is that there is more to us than our death, more than our bodies” (page 194). Our loved ones are in a better place.