As a care pastor, chaplain and hospice spiritual care giver, I have often been in homes, hospice houses and hospital rooms as dearly loved ones were dying. I have wept over friends. I have wept with my family. I never claimed to be like Jesus because I am often self-centered and sinful. However, in Isaiah 53 the Messiah is described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. I understand this Jesus!
When I did my master’s project for my MA in ministry with grief counseling emphasis, I was given this criticism of my master’s project: “Tim, we agree with you, but you have not tried to prove anything that you wrote. You are 100% intuitive but not the least bit scientific.”
I have not changed. These are eleven suggestions gathered from my life experiences:
