How to Master the Art of Good Comforting - Martin Wiles

I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are! Job 16:2 NLT

Regardless of where she went, she couldn’t find comfort. It seemed as if no one knew how to master the art of good comforting.

Leah and her husband were never apart. They even volunteered at the same place after they retired. Both appeared to be in good health, so you can imagine Leah’s shock when her husband dropped dead. Jeff was outside cutting grass. He had no recent health concerns. But when Leah saw him stumble into the doorway and say he wasn’t feeling well, she could see something wasn’t right. Within a few minutes, he had slumped over, never to recover.

Although months had passed since Jeff’s death, Leah still mourned and suffered with anxiety and depression. She went to counselors, pastors, and friends, but nothing seemed to soothe her mental agony. She couldn’t focus and struggled to make it through each day. She left her old church, saying she just couldn’t stand to attend without Jeff. Leah longed for lasting comfort, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

Job didn’t find it with his fair-weather friends either. He had lost almost everything a person could lose and still survive. What’s worse, God permitted his woes to prove to Satan that Job would maintain his loyalty to God despite extreme adversity. The only comfort Job’s friends could muster was telling him he had sinned. Confess, and things would get better, was their advice. Job, however, had nothing to confess. He maintained his innocence and muddled through his pain and sorrow.

Job’s friends did what is typical. They thought they had to say something to soothe his grief—and they did. But what they said didn’t do the trick, nor was it biblically sound.

Telling someone that God needed another angel, or that you know how they feel, is hollow comfort. God doesn’t take life to get angels, nor do humans become angels after death. And no two people grieve over the same episode in the same way.

Our presence during grief is better than words. Sharing truth from God’s Word can be comforting, but timing is critical. Sitting, listening, and letting the person cry on your shoulder is better. When the time is right, they’ll ask, and then you can share words of wisdom they might need to hear. For the moment, silence is golden, and practical help is priceless.

Comforting those who grieve is tricky business. Before you speak or act, pray and ask God for direction and wisdom.

Father, give me wisdom to know how to comfort those who are hurting with grief. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Keeping the Death Vigil - Martin Wiles

Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 NLT

He lay almost motionless—a Superman tattoo on his arm. And as he did, my wife and I were keeping the death vigil.

My brother-in-law often kidded that he was Superman. And he had been. He survived things that had killed many people. Although a young man, he had suffered several heart attacks that damaged his heart beyond repair.

Not only had he survived health issues, but he had also made it through many years of reckless living. He had endured beatings, robberies, and a near-fatal shooting. He made it through work injuries. When I perused the list in my mind, I could understand the Superman tattoo on his arm and his mentality.

But at last, the great leveler of all humanity was about to conquer him. Doctors had done all they could. Now he lay in a hospital bed in a local Hospice house. The doctor talked to the family. His body was shutting down. There was nothing else they could do but make him comfortable. My wife swabbed his mouth, used a machine to suck bodily fluids, held her phone to his ear to play one of his favorite songs, and cried. Family members took turns talking to him and expressing their love.

Had his dilemma happened six months before, we would have worried more. A part of his reckless living was holding God at arm’s length. He grew up going to church, but had left that part of his life many years before. Although filled with grief, we weren’t as worried now. He recently made his peace with God and spoke often of his readiness to meet his Savior, which comforted our hearts.

Paul also took security in knowing that if persecution took his life, he would immediately be in heaven with his Savior.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but knowing they will enter heaven’s gates and that we will see them again in eternity makes the process easier. Heaven isn’t a pie-in-the-sky fairy tale believed by those who need courage to face death, but an actual place prepared for those who choose to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus said there are many rooms there—enough for as many as believe in him.

Our family took comfort in knowing our loved one would be waiting for us. We invite you to join us. Believe today. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Father, thank you for preparing a place for those who love and choose to follow you. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Life After Death: The Comfort Behind Being Absent from the Body - Martin Wiles

Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 NLT

Death. Funerals. They’re both a part of life. I don’t enjoy either of them, but they come with the life-on-earth territory. Death respects no age or person. Comforting those who have lost loved ones challenges the best of us. And Bible verses don’t always do the trick. I’ve seen anger, frustration, bitterness, confusion, and relief. However—and whenever—death comes, separation takes place, and separations are never easy. Attempting to comfort, I have made the statement: “You know what the Bible says, ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.’” Still, knowing a loved one is with the Lord doesn’t completely eliminate the sense of loss the one left behind feels.

Paul’s life since trusting Christ had been rough. As he panhandled the gospel over the known world, his enemies hounded his steps. Stonings, beatings, jailings, false accusations, desertions by friends. He faced them all. But comfort came through his belief that if they took his life, he would be at home with his Savior.

The concept of an afterlife—as most Christians now understand it—developed slowly. In the Old Testament, the afterlife was viewed as a shadowy existence. Not until the New Testament was the concept more fully developed. A blissful place called heaven for those who’ve accepted Christ as their Savior, but torment and judgment for those who reject him.

While some believe nothing happens between death and the final resurrection, many, perhaps most, believe we are composed of body, soul, and spirit—or at least body and spirit. Either way, we have a part that lives on after death before the resurrection of our bodies. Believing this is a comforting thought when we lose loved ones, if they know Christ as Savior. We may not have them anymore, but a day will come when we’ll see them again.

Death is not the end of our existence. Life continues. Make sure your and your loved ones’ eternity is secure with God in heaven.

Father, thank you for the hope of an eternity with you when we place our faith in your Son. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

The Fulfillment - Lynne Phipps

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. 

~Galatians 4:4 NIV

Growing up, every Christmas ended the same way. My dad spoiled it. He was disappointed with what he did or didn't receive and sulked. He would get mad at something someone said, and an argument would ensue. Or the meal wasn't quite perfect, and the complaining would erupt. 

I came to dread Christmas day, waiting for his explosion. After waiting so long and anticipating the joy of Christmas, the actual day was anything but fulfilling.

How different the first Christmas must have been for Mary and Joseph when, in the fullness of time, God's Son came into their lives. Any discomfort or disappointment they may have felt about their lodgings or having to lay the babe in a lowly manger must have flown away after the shepherds' visit. Luke records, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19 NIV).

The fulfillment of the promise, which the angel Gabriel spoke to her and God later revealed to Joseph in a dream, had come true: the Holy Spirit would come upon Mary, and the power of the Most High would overshadow her so that the Holy one to be born would be called the Son of God. A truth that the shepherds testified to for everyone they met. The babe, whom Gabriel had instructed the couple to name Jesus because he would save his people from their sins, had been born. 

What a gift and miracle. What a hope that lay within that tiny bundle of human flesh. What a fulfillment of God's promise from the beginning of time that a Savior would be born to set His people free from the bondage of sin. How Mary and Joseph's hearts must have rejoiced that first Christmas when they gazed upon the face of this one called Jesus.

Each of us may have plans for a perfect Christmas day this Christmas. But what will happen if those plans go awry? Will we experience disappointment, fulfillment, or even anger? Or, will we choose joy and embrace the truth of God's fulfilled promise, which still brings good news of great joy for all people? A Savior has been born. He is Christ the Lord, who still saves people from their sins today.

Find fulfillment and joy this Christmas, no matter what may go amiss or what might bring disappointment, anger, and emptiness. The choice is yours.

Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More.

I invite you to try my newest book, Grits, Grace, and Grands, in eBook or paperback. If you are a grandparent or just want to hear grandparent stories, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Mastering Godliness - Amy Dagit

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness. 1 Timothy 4:7 ESV  

One afternoon, I received an exciting email: my devotion had been chosen for publication. That night, I celebrated with my husband. We snuggled on the couch and toasted my achievement.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks, and the publisher posted my devotion on their website. I expected a few edits, but nothing I worried about. I navigated to the website and read.

My demeanor plummeted into despair. The final product gutted me. I thought the edits were heavy-handed. The editor had deleted my favorite word, and I felt my voice had been erased. I stomped upstairs, fell into bed, and cried while the voice in my mind reiterated the wrongs in the published devotion.

After drying my eyes, I walked downstairs, sat at my computer, and worked on another devotion. The Spirit quickly prodded me. I had not responded with godliness. Instead, I rejected God’s gift, grumbled rather than prayed, and  wallowed in the lies. I had forgotten my purpose was to reach others with God’s Word.

I am thankful for the Spirit’s nudge. I learned that godliness does not come easily. It requires immersion, practice, toiling, striving, setting an example, and checking ourselves.

Godliness entails our commitment to live according to God’s Word. When acting godly, we reveal God’s character to others and lead them toward eternity. And yes, others notice. But, of course, the opposite is also true. Our ungodly acts can push others away from the Father.

Think about your reaction to a situation that didn’t happen as planned. Did you respond with grumbling, take out your anger on a loved one, or believe the lies? Why not use the Bible to create a list of godly responses for unexpected situations?

Tweetable: How can you do a better job of mastering godliness? 

Amy Dagit is a writer and copyeditor from East Central Illinois. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Besides editing and writing, Amy loves to travel and photograph. Her writing has been published in The Wanderlust Within, 50 Haikus, and Inkspirations Online. She blogs about editing, writing, and travel at amydagit.com.

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Good Grief - Martin Wiles

I weep with grief; encourage me by your word. Psalm 119:28 NLT

I remember it as the one time in my life when I openly grieved and experienced good grief.

I don’t come from a crying family. If we shed tears, we did so in private . . . and then only for brief episodes. But for me, grieving changed when my father died. I thought I was handling his death well as I watched him die in an Atlanta hospital. I even kept my composure when we went to the funeral home to view his body before the funeral. But during the funeral—as songs were played that my father loved—I lost my composure. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t hold back the tears or even the open weeping. This grief was different, but it was good. It helped me process my loss.

Spending seventy years serving ruthless enemies discouraged God’s people. These same enemies had also destroyed what was most precious to them: the Temple in Jerusalem. And so they cried . . . grieved. Would they ever leave captivity? Would God’s house ever be rebuilt?

There was a time when the picture of the strong, rugged American kept many from weeping openly. Crying wasn’t for boys or men, and women didn’t do much of it either. We could handle anything. We could pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.

Depending on the translation used, “Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in the Bible. He wept when he looked at Jerusalem—a city of unbelievers with a sordid history. He wept when his good friend Lazarus died prematurely. He cried on his knees in a garden when he thought of his impending doom on the cross.

If the Son of God grieved, it must be something good about it. Mourning, in whatever form it appears, is beneficial. It helps us process whatever has brought our sorrow. 

Tears release pressure and cleanse the soul. They are for strong-minded people, not weak-minded pansies. Only when grief goes beyond a reasonable period or is processed in unhealthy ways does it stop being good and start bringing harm.

Let yourself experience good grief when sorrow enters your life.

Prayer: Father, comfort us in our grief so that we might comfort others in theirs.

Tweetable: Are you experiencing good grief? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines. 

Meandering Monday - Sorrow’s Benefits - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again. 

Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. Ecclesiastes 7:3 NLT

Guilt had consumed her. Reluctantly, she confessed her unfaithfulness to her husband. He, in turn, had to deal with sorrow and the accompanying anger.

A parent lay dying on the hospital table. The doctors had done all they could. The family decided to remove life support, but knowing their loved one had slipped into a better eternity didn’t completely wipe away their present grief.

The trooper stood at the door and said, “I’m sorry to inform you that your daughter was killed…”

An employer was forced to do what he dearly despised—make cutbacks. Unfortunately, your position was eliminated.

The wisest man who ever lived said sorrow is better than laughter because it refines. Funny, I’ve never thought about it in that light. For me, it’s something to avoid. I’d rather smile than frown, laugh than cry, and praise than complain. Refine? How’s that possible?

Sorrow can be a master teacher. Times of sorrow keep things in perspective. Tragedies, sicknesses, and disappointments remind us of what’s most important. Along with sorrow, usually comes grief. Accompanying grief are tears. While not enjoyable, grieving brings with it a cleansing process. When dealt with properly and promptly, our souls are cleansed and strengthened.

Life is a mixture of sorrow and happiness. Sin is the culprit behind sorrowful experiences, but in heaven, things and people who cause grief won’t be present. Now, however, we must deal with sorrow.

Experiencing times of sorrow keeps us dependent on God to guide us through these aching times. Situations that bring sadness also remind us we’re not invincible. We can learn from the painful experiences and use the lessons in the future to serve others in God’s name. Most likely, we’ll encounter someone who is experiencing something similar to what we have.

Are you using what you learn from sorrowful experiences to help others?

Prayer: God of love and power, help us not to waste our sorrowful experiences. Rather, show us how to use them to serve others.

Tweetable: Are you sharing with others what you learned from sorrow?

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Meandering Monday - The Goodness of Grief - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again. 

David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan. II Samuel 1:11-12 NLT

The news hit him like a bombshell.

Running for his life, hiding like the criminal he wasn’t, and constantly looking over his shoulder wasn’t the life David had bargained for. Caves, wildernesses, enemy camps. Not places he enjoyed laying his head down at night. He had no choice.

King Saul had placed a price on David’s head and hunted him like a dog. Even the king’s son—who was also David’s best friend—couldn’t save him. Now it was finally over. The enemy had won. Saul and Jonathan lay dead on the battlefield. Words couldn’t adequately convey David’s grief. 

David’s sorrow started long before the death of the king and David’s good friend. Because of the king’s jealousy, David had to leave his best friend and had been hiding in the wilderness for months as the maddened king sought his life.

Grieving often precedes the actual grief event itself. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, in her book On Death and Dying, detailed the stages most people experience when receiving news of their or someone else’s impending death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Grieving over loss or impending doom is necessary. Tears provide a healing flow. Refusing to grieve by repressing emotional turmoil only leads to further emotional issues. When my father died, I experienced emotions as I never had before. But my emotional states were necessary on my journey to acceptance.

Grieving also happens in various time frames. Some grieve and heal quickly while others remain in grief’s grip for months and possibly years. Only God can help us grieve properly and heal sufficiently.

Comfort for believers is found in what the apostle Paul wrote, “You must not carry on over them (the dead) like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word” (1 Thessalonians 4:13 MSG).

Rather than reacting in unhealthy ways, let God help you grieve properly.

Prayer: Guide us, God of comfort and grace, to a healing state when circumstances cause us untold grief.

Tweetable: How are you dealing with grief? 

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Bottled-up Tears - Martin Wiles

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8 NLT

With a 6 ¼-ounce glass Coke bottle, he defrosted freezers.

With few exceptions, such as at grocery stores, my grandfather knew nothing about putting ice cream in freezers that didn’t need defrosting. The ice cream freezers his company donated to customers—or the ones the customers themselves owned—were not frost-free. Over time, chunks of ice accumulated on the sides, making it difficult to stock the boxes of ice cream in them neatly.

When the ice reached a certain level, my grandfather would look for an empty Coke crate in the store. These were the days when a person could return empty bottles for a small deposit of money. Store owners kept the empty crates after they put the bottles in the distributing machines.

My grandfather walked to the crate, picked up a small Coke bottle, and went to work, using the bottom of the bottle to knock the ice loose from the sides of the freezer. Within five minutes, he had defrosted the freezer and tossed the ice outside in the hot sun to melt.

Nothing like a good bottle. I remember when companies first put their soda products in aluminum cans. I hated it. It changed the entire taste of the product. Then came plastic bottles. This improved the taste a little, but nothing tastes like a soda—or any other drinkable liquid product—packaged in a bottle. The product also stays colder. Give me a bottle any day.

The psalmist enjoyed bottles too. Not for drinking, but because God bottled his tears in them. He had many sorrows during his lifetime—as most of us do. But God took note of them and bottled them up.

God does the same for anyone. He loves us with unconditional love and notices our life’s sorrows. Some tears He sends to mature us or to stretch our faith, but many come because we live in a sin-infested world where things break down and go awry.

But God does more than notice our sorrows. He bottles them, giving us the strength to endure each one, no matter how intense they are. By depending on the guidance of His Spirit, we discover the strength to put one foot in front of the other when we don’t think we can. We grieve, but we keep moving until things change—or until we accept our new norm.

Coke bottles eventually increased in size, and God’s bottle is large enough to handle all your tears. Put them in His bottle.

Prayer: Father, thank You for bottling our tears so we can move on with life.

Tweetable: Are your tears bottled up? 

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Calming the Storm at Christmas - Leslie Colburn

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalm 107:28-29 NIV

The Christmas season is upon us. 

The music. The excitement. The decorations. The celebration of our Lord and Savior’s birth. The time for reflection, forgiveness, worship, and joy with family and friends. 

But for those of us who have lost a loved one, the Christmas season can intensify emotions of sadness and feelings of loneliness. New waves of grief that had subsided become fierce and overwhelming again. 

This is the fifteenth Christmas without my mom. We haven’t decorated, shopped, planned, celebrated, laughed, baked, or traveled together. I will never get to see her celebrate Christmas morning with my daughters who dress in matching jammies. They will never get to put baby Jesus in the manger together and hear her tell them about His birth.

I want to say that Christmas without her has gotten easier. In some ways it has, but with so many vivid memories of her around this time of year, the waves of grief can knock me off my feet without any notice.

I knew that my twenty-seventh Christmas with Mom would probably be our last together because she was so sick with cancer. I also knew the first Christmas without her would be hard, almost unbearable. That year my family and I booked a trip to Mexico—no tree, no traditions, no familiarity. 

I will always carry the scars of my broken heart, but my scars are a reminder that God heals. On my fourteenth Christmas without Mom, I finally got her Christmas china set out of storage. After my mom died, I didn’t want the dishes because of the memories. This year, I was glad to have those dishes. I loved unwrapping each piece, remembering my mom, and being able to bring a part of her to my family table. 

This Christmas, I cried when I got my mom’s nativity set out of storage and set it out for the first time since she left. But I found peace as I watched my daughters put the baby Jesus in the manger. 

When we cry to the Lord in our troubles, He will bring us out of our distress. He will still the storm to a whisper and hush the waves of the sea.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your constant presence in my life. Thank You for taking the storms in my heart and calming me with Your healing touch.

Tweetable: How do you calm your Christmas storms? 

Leslie Colburn is a mom and a writer with one goal: spreading encouragement and the message that re-gifting love is what matters the most. Her newest book, Perfectly YOU, is the next installment of the Cross My Heart Books series and will be released in early 2021.

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When Life Stings - Martin Wiles

For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it … But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. Psalm 55:12-13 NKJV

The boss’s secretary summoned me to the boss’s office.

As I walked through the door, people—work cohorts—lined the wall. The boss invited me to sit and then spilled the accusation brought against me. An accusation made by a friend. A false accusation. The nature of the accusation didn’t shock me as much as the fact that this person had made it. We were good friends, helped each other almost daily, and kidded with each other regularly. Now, they had misinterpreted something I said.

I explained my statement, and they accepted my explanation, but the matter would go on my permanent record. I didn’t want that. It wasn’t fair that I should be labeled for something I didn’t do. My boss accompanied me to Human Resources where I fought to have the matter expunged from my record … and won.

Months passed before my friend and I treated each other as before. An air of caution surrounded me. Would this person betray me again? Could we have the same kind of friendship we’d had before? Eventually, the air cleared, but life had delivered me a nasty sting I’d not soon forget.

Life had stung David, too. By whom and how we don’t know. We could choose several episodes from his life, but the sting is not as important as how he handled it. Jesus knew the sting, too. Judas, one of His own disciples—one of the handpicked ones—betrayed Him to those who sought His death.

When stung by life, listening to the accusations—even when they’re false—has merit. Often, amid the lies, a kernel of truth exists. A lesson we can learn for future reference. Listening carefully also keeps us from overreacting, which often leads to anger and actions we’ll later regret.

I apologized to my accuser. Not for what I had said but for the fact that my statement had been misunderstood. We can never go wrong with the words, “I’m sorry.”

I also forgave and moved on. Forgiveness, in this case, was a process I worked through, which involved not dwelling on what had happened. In time, we restored our friendship.

Above all else, I gave the matter to God. He controlled it … and I needed to let Him. He had the power to do what I couldn’t.

When life stings you, forgive, give the matter to God, and move on.

Prayer: Father, we trust in You to move us forward when life stings us.

Tweetable: What do you do when life stings you? 

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Throwback Tuesday - Held by God - Martin Wiles

For three long months, they paced the floor and listened as I screamed for relief. 

When a baby cries for more than three hours in a day, for more than three days in a week, and for more than three weeks, they are usually diagnosed with infantile colic. The cause is generally unknown, and only a small percentage of infants who endure it has an organic disease causing it. More disturbing is what colic can lead to: postpartum depression, child abuse, stress, and breastfeeding failure. According to Mom, I was a victim for three months—at which time it ceased as suddenly as it had appeared. Fortunately, I didn’t have to endure this terror with my own children. 

Of all the things that prompt me to need God’s comfort, a colicky child seems quite tame; I often long for his assistance because the fish I have to fry are larger (Translation: I have bigger issues to deal with.). Don’t be afraid, for I am with you…I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NLT)

I take comfort in trying times by realizing God inhabits my hurts. Regardless of others’ actions, he never leaves me alone. Whether the trial is initiated or allowed by him is immaterial. His presence is all that matters. Step by step, hand in hand, he leads me over rocky crags, along narrow paths, and through lonesome valleys as he did Much-Afraid in Hannah Hurnard’s Hinds’ Feet on High Places. 

As my father did, God holds me tightly when I’m overwhelmed by life’s testings. Why a tight grip calms a colicky child, I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s simply the comfort of knowing someone has your situation under control—and God does. Nothing in my life careens out of control when God’s monitoring the circumstances.  

Many a parent assures their small child—who can’t understand what they’re saying, with the words, “It’s gonna be alright. Daddy (or Momma) has you.” I assure myself with the same: “God’s got this. Everything will be okay.” And it will. 

Are you allowing God to hold you securely when the times are tough?

Prayer: God of all compassion, may we feel Your arms of comfort surround us when we are overcome by pain, disappointment, and grief. 

Tweetable: Where do you go for comfort? 

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