Step #2 to help Grievers
Go!
The most ancient part of the Hebrew scripture focuses on death, dying, and grief.
The book of Job (pronounced with a long “o”).
Job’s family and friends all died--in one day. He lost everything except for his wife and a few friends.
Our story picks up when the friends come to visit Job.
They did five things right, initially.
They:
Made a plan
Went to see Job
Sat down
Were silent, and
Wept out loud
In this email, let’s unpack their second right move.
They went to see Job.
They didn’t add him to the prayer line.
They put a full stop to their ‘normal lives’ for their friend. They left their own homes. They decided to be with their friend on purpose.
When I was in Bible College, I lived nine hours from home. I was in the student center one evening when Ryan (my roommate, and not his real name) came in.
I could tell something wasn’t right.
Ryan and his grandfather had a close relationship. One of those “go out to lunch, just the two of them” type of friendships.
Ryan had just gotten off the phone with his mom. She shared that his grandfather had a medical event and was in the hospital. They were moving him to comfort care and his death was imminent.
Ryan was devastated.
He wanted to see his grandfather. But our finals were just a couple of days away. It was a long drive and his mother had encouraged him to stay at school.
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
“Well, I want to go… but…” he responded.
“Then let’s go,” I said. A college kid is always up for a sudden adventure.
A small light dawned in his eyes. “You mean, both of us?”
“Sure.” I smiled. “I know how to get there…” (We grew up in the same hometown.)
Ryan took me up on the offer, and in twenty minutes we were in his car and speeding out of town. We encountered exactly zero troopers on our 455-mile trip, which was good for us. A trip that usually took us nearly nine hours was completed in six hours and thirty-nine minutes.
I dropped Ryan off at the hospital and went home and fell asleep.
The next day my phone rang. Ryan was on the other end. His grandpa died just a few hours after we arrived in town. He was thankful for those hours.
Sometimes you just need to go.
Job’s friends went.
Sometimes the best way to help is to put the rest of life on hold and go.
If you are a part of a group that would like to have a grief talk, click the button below.
