Helping a Friend in Need

Here is the start of some helpful posts about what we can do now that Merv has gone to heaven.



Some of us don’t know what to say or how to act when a friend is trying to cope with the death of a loved one. Here are a few suggestions to assist you in helping them through this difficult time.

1. How you can help
You can start to help even before the funeral service by offering assistance with meals or with daily chores.
Attend the funeral service. Just being there shows that you share the bereaved’s grief and that you are there as a friend.
After the funeral is when an understanding friend can mean a great deal. That’s when the bereaved need to know that they are not alone in coping with their grief.

2. Be a good listener
Encourage them to express their feelings and emotions. Listen to them, try to understand their moods and let them say what they want to say. You are not there to judge.

3. You don’t have to rely on words
A squeeze of the hand, a touch on the shoulder, or an embrace is sometimes more comforting than words.

4. Don’t try to hide your own grief
Chances are you were also a friend of the deceased and that you too feel grief. Do not be afraid to show it. If you feel like crying, do. Your friend will certainly understand, and tears can be a way of sharing your experience.

5. Show that you haven’t forgotten
All too often when you ask bereaved friends if there is anything you can do, they will feel they are a burden, or are intruding, and will decline your help even when it would be welcome. So telephone, visit, drop by with food, take children on outings, or invite the family to your home.

Never walk away from someone who deserves help;

your hand is God's hand for that person.

Proverbs 3:27 (MSG)