‘He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. ‘ 2 Corinthians 1:4-5(NLT)
It was overwhelming enough to endure all the heartache and pain that I felt because of Stephanie’s death. But it was an even worse pain to consider how my son and daughter would be forever impacted by it, and for many years to come; probably, even, their entire lives. No parents want their children to go through pain, but there was no way to avoid this. So I knew I needed to figure out a way to walk with my children through the pain.
Thankfully, the Bible provides us with great wisdom about what to do in such times. In 2 Corinthians, we are told that God the Father comforts us so much so that we are equipped to comfort others in the same way. We need to depend on the Father to walk with us through our own grief, trusting that He will comfort us in ways we can’t even fathom. And then, just as the Father comforts us, we are able to comfort our children. It’s important that we work through our own grief in order to most help our children. But, we need to also be careful not to wait until we are completely “healed” before helping them because we might never come around to giving them the comfort they need. We need to sincerely pursue healing through our grief so that we can teach our children to do the same and to walk with them through the process.
Tomorrow we will talk about how but for now, meditate on today’s verses.
from How To Parent Well After The Loss Of A Spouse