Thistles
As I alluded to earlier this week, the life of a blog friend has been touched by tragedy.
More than touched. Shattered.
It’s not my story to tell.
It’s not my pain to express.
Not my loved one lost.
Despite this, I cannot help but acknowledge that today, this friend will brace herself for one of the toughest jobs a human can face.
She will attend the funeral of her husband.
…
I cannot imagine (and to be honest, am trying desperately hard not to imagine) what she is going through today. It’s something I cannot bear to walk through in my own mind.
Yet, I want her to know that I will help in whatever small way I can.
Especially today.
…
I was initially nervous of mentioning the shattering event that has so changed the life of this lovely woman and her young family. And despite her grief, she sent an email that assured me ‘there are very few wrong things people CAN say and even when they do, I know what they mean’. She went on to say how important she felt it was ‘so important that people keep me talking and engaged in life’.
And so this is what I will try to do.
Keep on living and invite her to be part of that.
Even while part of me wants to stop everything for this person,
a woman I have only ever known as Corymbia.
My awful initial uncertainty about how to respond made me wonder:
What IS the right thing to do?
What IS the right thing to say?
When is enough TOO much?
And when is it not enough?
…
If you have experienced this kind of tragedy, what did you need from others?
Please, share your wisdom or experience or advice here.
(Because I know so many of you are way wiser than I.)
She will read this.
Maybe not today, but soon.
And all I have to offer her is you.
