HURON Stepping through the door into a GriefShare meeting after losing his wife to cancer in 2009 was one of the hardest steps he had to take in his journey through grief, remembers Jim Schmidt of Huron.
The help of the grief support group gave me the tools to deal with my loss, he said. You dont have to go through the journey of grief alone, we are willing to walk through it with you.
Schmidt, who has been a group facilitator for the past 10 years, will lead the upcoming session of GriefShare from 7 to 9 p.m. each Monday beginning Sept. 8, at Living Hope Alliance Church, 1779 Frank Ave. S.E. The final session will be Nov. 17. People are welcome to bring a support person to the meetings with them. There is a $20 fee for program materials, and scholarships are available. Contact the pastor, Chad Rose, at 605-352-9676 for more information.
There is a second GriefShare group that began meeting last Tuesday at Huron Christian Church.
Schmidt was part of the original GriefShare group that was launched through Bethesda Church and later moved to Living Hope Alliance Church.
When you first lose somebody its like a nasty wound very painful and it cuts deep, he said. In time it gets better, but it will leave a scar. That scar is for a lifetime, but thats not a bad thing. It reminds you that you loved that person and you wont forget them.
Each member of the GriefShare leadership team has been through the journey of grief and participated in the program. There are three parts to the program: a weekly video featuring experts, a safe and confidential environment where you can share, and a guidebook.
The guidebook is packed with helpful hints to deal with grief, Schmidt said. You cant run from grief because it can run a marathon, and it will catch up with you down the road. You cant just get over it. The only thing we can do is face it and go through it. We can then find healing.
We cant tell you how to grieve, because we each grieve differently, he added. But we all understand the pain of grief. What we can offer are tools to help you deal with it, like how to handle triggers.
Schmidt said facilitators of the group are not experts, but the tools they learn in the journey will make a difference for them.
You know youre healing when you can be able to smile and laugh again and remember the treasured memories of an individual without breaking down every time, he said. Its not good to grieve alone. But you gotta go through it to get to healing go through the journey of grief.
Leave a Reply