What Not To Say To A Grieving Heart

By Alan Griffith

Grief is something that we all must deal with at some point in our life. It cannot be escaped by any of us. The Bible tells us that "it is appointed unto man once to die." But it is not something that we know how to handle very well, especially when it comes to helping others navigate through everything that comes with it: shock, denial, anger, depression, loneliness, etc. Pastor Alan Griffith pulls from his over thirty years of ministry, as well as the loss of his wife to help us minister more effectively to those who have lost a loved one and to understand "What Not to Say to a Grieving Heart." There are some things that may be true but not helpful, some things that are not true at all, and some things that just should not be said period. Sometimes the best way to minister to a grieving heart is to say nothing at all. Most people want to be of some comfort to those who are grieving, but they just don't know what to say or do to make a difference. If you are looking at this book, you are one of those people who want to make a difference in someone's life. This book will help you better minister to those who have experienced a great loss in their life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645695202

Book preview

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What Not To Say To A Grieving Heart

Pastor Alan Griffith

Copyright © 2019 by Alan Griffith

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

This writing is dedicated to the memory of my beloved wife, Reba Lynn Griffith. We had forty-two glorious years together, a year of dating and forty-one years of marriage. She was my wife, my soulmate, my lover, the mother of my children, my ministry partner, and my best friend. My world was shattered when she was taken from me. I am not sure I will ever recover from it. In the experience of my grief comes this writing, things that I have learned, some from what was actually said to me, others that I have heard said. This was something that I believe people need to hear so that they know What Not to Say…to a Grieving Heart.

Introduction

Iam sitting here thinking, finding it hard to believe that I have been in ministry for thirty years. God has brought me so far. I have learned many things, and many of them the hard way and those lessons are the ones you never forget. But God changed my life forever on September 1, 2017, when Reba, my wife of forty-one years, my lover, my best friend, my children’s mother, and my ministry partner went to her eternal home with the Lord. God has used her passing to teach me many things about love, life, death, and grief.

Death has touched my family, as it has yours. My mother and father have both gone to be with the Lord…their passing was difficult to say the least. Even though I was sixty-two years old when my mother passed…the feeling of being alone, an orphan, was hard to handle. My grandparents, the wife of my brother, the husband of my sister, uncles, aunts, and some