Many years ago, as a college dean, I sought to comfort an older student who had witnessed the accidental death of her 7 year-old son. As I stood in line at the funeral home, I wondered what could I possibly say to this grieving mother? In front of me was the Campus Pastor who did and said all the right things. The hug, the quite murmurs of sympathy, and then, to my surprise, he began to speak of the young boy and what a blessing he had been in her life. He didn’t avoid the subject. The elephant was in the room but it didn’t matter! Her son was honored by the remembering conversation. The brief conversation did not ally her grief, but it mattered to her. Continue reading