Grief Club

I met another grieving soul today.  Part of a club no one wants to join, with dues entirely too awful, and gatherings too miserable.

 But my heart still welcomed the meeting.  Because the death of a loved one sometimes leaves you out in the cold.

 Sometimes it makes you feel so broken, like there are too many pieces to ever put back together.

 Sometimes it makes you feel hard and invincible, like you’ve already suffered the worst thing possible so now nothing can touch you.

 Sometimes it makes you feel unseen.

 Sometimes it makes you feel too seen, too vulnerable.

 But when you meet another grieving person, it feels like hope. Like maybe, just maybe, you can survive this too.

 Like maybe, even though the stories of sorrow are vastly different, we finally are in a place of belonging. 

 Like maybe our broken pieces can begin to be mended.

 Like maybe we don’t have to be invincible.

Like maybe we can be seen.

And our pain known.