Is Grief Good?

     I’m swamped with grief these days from hurricanes and the mass shooting. And then grief broke into my friend’s home, an uninvited guest that refuses to leave. It haunts her with the image of the young face that won’t be in the next family photo. For another friend, grief stole his wife of forty years. An unfathomable loss.
     I’m awkward with those who sorrow. I make mistakes, just as others have made with me when I’ve been in anguish. Grief camped in my home awhile back. One friend announced, “God knew best.” Well meaning, but as cold as an ice storm. Another friend wrote, “I’m sending you a hug right now, and it’s a really good one.” That warmed my soul. So when I see my mourning friends, I won’t ask, “How are you doing?” (which puts them on the spot). I’ll throw my arms wide and whisper, “I’m glad to see you.” As they scale their mountain of shock, I pray that at the summit they’ll find Good Grief, a painful teacher who reminds us of the few things that really matter in life.
     But it’s a long, hard climb.