Widows and Widowers-What Do They Need? - How Can You Help?

Note: I don't know how the last blog became red, I typed it in black with only the Bible verses in bold and what Jehovah/Jesus said in bold red. It was acting up yesterday and I had redone it twice and it was black ink when I published it.  So forgive me, it was not me.

In the dimly lit kitchen of her tiny apartment, Jeanne mechanically sets the table. After all, she must eat something. Suddenly her eyes fix on the two plates in front of her . . . and she bursts into tears.  Out of habit, she has set the table for two! It has been two years since her dear husband passed away.

FOR those who have not had the experience, it is impossible to understand the depth of the pain caused by the loss of  a mate. In fact, the human mind only gradually  accepts the terrible reality.  Beverly 72, could not accept the sudden death of her husband.  "It felt unreal," she says.  "I could not believe that he was not going to walk through the  door again.

Following an amputation, individuals sometimes "feel" their lost limb. In a similar way, grief stricken mates sometimes "see" their loved one om a crowd or catch themselves making a casual comment to someone who is not  there anymore!

Friends and family often do not know how to react in the face of such suffering. Do you know someone who has experienced the death of a mate?  How, then, can you provide support? What should you know in order to help widows and widowers work through their grief? How can you help the bereaved gradually to regain a taste for life?

Next time: Widows and Widowers -What Do They Need?/How Can You Help?

From the jw.org publications