As a communications professional, I am terrible at communicating on my own behalf. This hasn’t been truer for me than in the past week as I, along with my coworkers, have grieved the sudden loss of our CEO’s 7-year-old son. Words like “I’m sorry for your loss” simply don’t come close to expressing true feelings.
Along with being a terrible self-communicator, I am also a crier. Be it a Hallmark movie, a friend’s struggle, or the somberness that is death, I am going to cry. Given my innate gift to cry at virtually anything and along with anyone, you’d think God would have also given me the gift of being a pretty crier. Not so. It’s a red-faced, completely obvious, puffy-eye cry. Which, in turn, makes me fight the urge to cry.
How do these two things go together? It came together for me on Saturday. A friend shared the Scripture reference of Galatians 6:2 in a social media post.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
What does it mean to carry each other’s burdens? It can be done in many ways. It could be as simple as listening with intent while a friend shares her heart. It could be daily prayer for a family. It could be just being present. And, after this experience, I believe it could be the shedding of tears.
Over the past few days, being unable to completely focus on anything else, I have done all I could do to will myself not to cry. After reading my friend’s post and the verse from Galatians, I knew exactly why I continued to tear up, cry and be distracted. I was sharing in the grief. Carrying the burden. Shouldering the sadness. And, suddenly it no longer mattered to me if everyone around me was about to see me with puffy, red eyes. The wet streaks on my cheeks were visible expressions of the grief and sadness I was carrying for this family.
In the past week some awful things have happened in our country, from the terrible hate crime at the club in Orlando to the sweet 2-year old boy tragically taken by an alligator at Disney World. There is grief to be shared in and not nearly enough words to bring relief. Those are things in another state, but most of don’t have to look too far down our own streets to find those who need someone to come alongside them.
If you wrestle to find the words to say to those who are suffering, there is support you can give. When there are no words, help carry the burden.