GriefShare
GriefShare leader Barb Kolton
Why do they gather, week after week, these men and women who have lost a spouse, a child, or another close family member? For one recent widow, the group is a place to be with others who are experiencing some of the same things she is and who are willing to share their stories of how God has been their comfort and their peace.
Little by little, that young widow reports, she is starting to see that her joy is returning.
What members of the GriefShare group soon learn is that grief is a bit easier when shared. Even though each loss is different, those in the group are all on the same kind of journey, some whose grief is painfully fresh and some—like leaders Barb and Susie— who are further down that road.
For Barb, it was her experience with a GriefShare program at another church that convinced her to help start a similar program at WBC. Following the death of her young adult son after a two-and-a-half-year illness, she was greatly helped through the grieving process by that program, and when she and her husband came to Wheaton Bible Church in 2009, she found that there was no formal program here for those dealing with grief.
“I knew that the Lord was telling me to take a step forward to help others, but
I don’t really like to be up front,” Barb said. “And how can I help others when I haven’t finished grieving myself?” she asked. She found her answer in Jeremiah 29:11. “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ God says, ‘to bring you good and not harm.’” She saw that God could use what she’d been through to help others.
“Now, I look forward to Monday nights—and when I leave, I feel encouraged knowing that God’s got me right where He wants me, doing what he wants me to do right now.”
GriefShare is for any adult who has lost a loved one through death. Beginning with family dinner at 6:00, the group then meets for teaching on DVD before breaking into groups of seven to twelve for discussion followed by a time of sharing and prayer and ending at 8:00 pm.
