Recent Articles
02/21/2020
Do young children experience grief? Dr. Alan Wolfelt is a grief counselor who says, “Any child old enough to experience love is old enough to grieve.” Even though they will show their grief differently than adults do, very young children do feel loss. Here’s how you can help a young child grieve. Youngsters ages three […]
11/14/2019
Christmas is an especially difficult holiday when there is an empty chair at the table following the death of a loved one. One of the deep needs of a grieving person is to know that others are walking with her on her grief journey. To acknowledge a friend’s grief is a gift that many won’t […]
03/07/2019
Years ago, my husband Larry and I set off on a grand adventure: we spent 14 months on a 32-foot sailboat, traveling the open ocean. (With our two small children aboard, I might add!) It certainly was an exciting time. When I started my ministry, I realized that life on the water helped me understand […]
02/25/2019
Editor’s Note: In any caregiving situation, we remind our readers to remember the Caregiving Basics: Pray, Listen, Respect the Grief Journey and Preserve the Dignity of the Person. This post is an overview of Respect the Grief Journey. Grief is a normal and natural experience by which a person makes a healthy adjustment to any significant […]
01/28/2019
Our special friend Jim died recently. As I searched for ways to care for Melanie, Jim’s companion, and Jami, his daughter, I discovered a wonderful way to offer a caring gift for a bereaved friend. It’s called a “Laurel Box.” These handcrafted gifts are a unique way to show care, love and support for those […]
09/05/2018
Tears spilled gently from my eyes as I watched my 19-year-old daughter triumphantly cross the finish line of her first marathon. The emotions that whirled around in my head were so mixed: proud of her accomplishment but sad by what had prompted it and what it had come to mean. Six months earlier my husband […]
07/24/2018
On a Sunday in June, my granddaughter Anna was walking her dog on a country road and a truck hit her pet, Inky. Inky died. My granddaughter was grieving the death of a pet and I knew that she needed comfort. Immediately when I heard the news, I wrote her a text saying how sorry I […]
