You Can Help A Grieving Heart
Oh, we talk about the best
cold medications and if cherry cough syrup tastes better to kids than orange. We
can recommend preschools and sneakers. But the hardest part of parenting is the
least often discussed. The roughest aspect of being a parent is losing a
child.
Then we clam up. We don't want to hear. We are threatened. If her child died,
mine could, too. What can we do when parenting goes beyond the normal
expectations? "What do I say?" friends ask me with a look of agony in their
eyes. "I feel so helpless.
I can't empathize, I haven't had a child die."
You can help. You don't have to stand there with a blank stare or excuse
yourself from the conversation. You can be informed so that you will be able to
reach out to a friend who has lost a child.
"Jump into the midst of things and do something," says Ronald Knapp author of
the book, "Beyond Endurance: When A Child Dies." Traditionally there are the
sympathy cards and hot casseroles brought over to the bereaved's home. But it
doesn't end there. That is only the beginning of reaching out to your friend or
relative who has recently experienced the death of a child at any age.
Here are 15 tips you can learn to make you an effective and compassionate
friend to your friend in pain:
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Listen. When you ask your friend, "How are you doing today?" wait to
hear the answer.
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Cry with her. She may cry also, but your tears don't make her cry.
She cries when no one else is around and within her heart are the daily tears no
one sees.
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Don't use cliches. Avoid lines like, "It will get better." "Be
grateful you have other children." "You're young, you can have another baby."
"He was sick and it is good he is no longer suffering." There will never be a
phrase invented that makes it all right that a child died.
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Help with the care of the surviving children. Offer to take them to
the park, your house for a meal, to church. Say "May I please take Billy to the
park today? Is four okay with you?" Don't give the line, "If you need me, call
me." Your bereaved friend may not feel comfortable with asking for help.
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Say your friend's child's name. Even if she cries, these are tears
that heal. Acknowledging that the child lived and has not been forgotten is a
wonderful balm to a broken heart.
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Give to the memorial fund. Find out what it is and give, today, next
year and the next.
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Some mothers start to collect items that bring comfort after a child
dies; find out what it is your friend is collecting and buy one for her. My son
liked watermelons and we have many stories of watermelons and him. Therefore my
house now has assorted watermelon mementoes -- a tea pot, kitchen towel and soap
dispenser. Many mothers find solace in rainbows, butterflies and angels.
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Send a card (I'm thinking of you is fine) but stay away from sappy
sympathy ones.
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Go to the grave. Take flowers, a balloon or a toy. How honored your
friend will be to see what you have left there the next time she visits the
cemetery.
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Don't use religion as a 'brush away' for pain. Stay clear of words
that don't help like, "It was God's will."
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Don't judge her. You don't know what she is going through each day,
you can not know of the intense pain unless you have had a child die.
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Stay in touch. Call to hear how she is coping. Suggest getting
together, but if she isn't up for it, give her space.
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Read a book on grief, focusing on the parts that give you ideas on
how to be a source of comfort for your bereaved friend.
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Know she has a hole in her heart, a missing piece due to the death of
her child. Holes like these never heal so accept this truth and don't expect her
to 'get over' this loss.
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Remember that with the death of her child, a part of her died -- old
beliefs, ideals, etc. Her life has been forever changed. Let her know your love
for her as well as God's love for her is still the same.
Even as you participate in the suggestions above, you will still feel
uncomfortable. It has been three years since the death of my four year-old,
Daniel, and even now when I meet a newly-bereaved mother, I am uncomfortable.
Talking of the untimely death of a child is never easy for anyone. However,
avoiding reality does not bring healing. You will provide many gifts of comfort
along the way when you actively decide to help your grieving friend. When my
friends and family acknowledge all four or my children, the three on this earth
and the one in Heaven, I am honored. Each time it is as though a ray of warm
sunlight has touched my soul.
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