Grieving is a new process for me - I never had to really grieve before because no one has died that has been close to me. My grandfather on my mother side died before I was born, but the rest of them are still alive. A close family friend died a few years back, but I was away and wasn't able to engage like the rest of the family did.
But since Abel has passed away, grieving with my wife has been eye opening and it has made me more grace-oriented. It is by God's grace that we can grieve and I realized that we need to show that grace to others to help each other grieve.
Our doctor said something that made an impression on me. "You have to grieve. You will either grieve now or grieve later." Although I think I knew that in the back of my head, it was a good statement to take to heart. I think men have this idea that we have to be strong and resist showing tears and publicly grieve. But I think that is just delaying the inevitable and may make the grieving process harder.
The trick is to figure out how to grieve.
