Stormeyes Enchanted

Our Sunday Evening GriefShare Group Begins September 13th at Spring Hills Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio

There are some experiences in life that divide everything into two parts: Before…and after.

The death of someone we love can be one of them. Suddenly, the world keeps moving while yours feels like it has stopped. People go to work. The grocery store is still open. The mail still arrives. Someone somewhere is complaining because their coffee order is wrong. And you may be standing there wondering how everyone can possibly be acting normal when absolutely nothing about your world feels normal anymore.

Grief can be lonely like that.

Even when you are surrounded by people who love you.

That is one of the reasons I am so grateful that GriefShare is beginning again at Spring Hills Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio, on Sunday evening, September 13!! I am honored to be one of three leaders who will be walking alongside our Sunday evening group.

If you are thinking, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that,’ please keep reading because you do not have to have grief figured out before you come to GriefShare. Actually, that would rather defeat the purpose. 💜

So, What Exactly Is GriefShare?

GriefShare is a 13-week, Christ-centered grief support program specifically created for people who are grieving the death of someone they love.

Each weekly meeting combines a roughly 30-minute video featuring grief experts, counselors, pastors, and people who have personally experienced loss, followed by group conversation and a workbook participants can use between meetings. It is not simply a Bible study. It is not a lecture about how Christians are “supposed” to grieve. And it is definitely not a room full of people telling you that you should be over it by now!

GriefShare is designed to provide education, practical tools, biblical hope, and—perhaps most importantly—a community of people who understand that grief can be messy. Really messy.

Who Is GriefShare For?

GriefShare is specifically for people grieving a death. That could be the death of your: Spouse, child (whether infant, young child, teenager, adult, or unborn child), parent, sibling, grandparent, friend, coworker, other relative, or another person who was deeply important to you.

The official GriefShare program makes clear that the relationship does not have to fit into one particular category for your grief to matter. And your loss does not have to be recent. Maybe the funeral was last week. Maybe it was six months ago. Maybe it was five years ago and something has happened recently that brought the grief roaring back. There isn’t an expiration date after which you are no longer allowed to need support. Grief has absolutely no respect for calendars.

What If My Grief Isn’t From a Death?

This is something worth explaining clearly.

There are many kinds of grief.

Divorce.

Estrangement.

Loss of health.

Loss of a career.

A child leaving home.

Addiction in the family.

Major life changes.

Loss of identity.

Those losses can be incredibly painful and deserve support.

However, GriefShare itself is specifically designed around bereavement following the death of a loved one.

Spring Hills offers a wider range of support and recovery ministries as well, so if the grief you are carrying comes from something other than a death, please do not hear “GriefShare isn’t the right program” as “your grief doesn’t count.”

It does.

It may simply need a different kind of support. Spring Hills describes the support and recovery ministries as Christ-centered spaces addressing areas including grief, addiction, divorce, and other life struggles.

What Happens When I Walk Into the First Meeting?

This may be the question that keeps someone home because walking into a room filled with strangers when you are already emotionally exhausted can sound approximately as appealing as volunteering for a root canal. I understand. GriefShare actually published an article this summer specifically for people nervous about attending. Their advice is wonderfully simple: You don’t have to know whether you will attend all 13 weeks. You don’t have to arrive prepared to tell your story. You don’t have to know what to say. You can simply come, sit, listen, and see what the experience feels like.

When you arrive at our group, our goal as leaders is not to interrogate you. Nobody is going to greet you at the door with: “HELLO! PLEASE TELL US THE MOST PAINFUL THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU.” That would be horrifying. 😂

We want to welcome you. Help you get settled. Explain what to expect. And give you room to breathe.

Do I Have to Talk?

No.

This is one of the biggest things I want people to know. You do not have to share your story. GriefShare specifically states that participants may share as much or as little as they feel comfortable sharing. You are completely welcome to come and listen. Some people talk during the first meeting. Some barely say their name. Some listen for several weeks before they feel comfortable sharing much at all. All of those are okay. We would love to hear from you when you are ready but remember — silence is not failure. Sometimes simply sitting in a room and realizing ‘These people actually understand this,’ is enough for one night.

And Yes, You Are Allowed to Cry

You may cry. Someone else may cry. One of your leaders may cry. (OK, me. I may cry.) There may occasionally be a whole lot of tissues happening in one general area. 💜 Nobody is going to panic because you cried. Tears are not an emergency. They are one of the many completely normal ways grief shows up. And if you don’t cry? That is okay too. Some people cry constantly. Some rarely cry. Some cry in the grocery store because they saw their person’s favorite cereal but somehow remain completely dry-eyed while telling the story of the funeral. Grief makes very little effort to be predictable. There isn’t one emotional response everyone is supposed to have.

What Does a Typical Meeting Look Like?

The structure is intentionally simple.

Each week, participants generally:

Watch a video. The approximately 30-minute teaching features Christian counselors, pastors, grief professionals, and people who have experienced loss themselves.

Talk together. The group discusses the week’s topic and how it connects with what participants are experiencing.

Use the workbook. Participants receive material containing Scripture, practical information, reflection questions, and exercises that can be used during the week.

That combination matters because grief affects more than emotions. It can affect sleep, concentration, relationships, faith, decision-making, memory, energy, family roles, friendships, your sense of identity, even the ‘who am I now that this person is gone?’ phase. GriefShare gives us time to talk about those things.

What Will We Talk About During the 13 Weeks?

One reason I like the structure of GriefShare is that it does not treat grief like one enormous emotion called sad. There is much more to it. The current 13-session program addresses:

Week 1 — Is This Normal?

Week 2 — Your Grief Journey

Week 3 — Loneliness & Sadness

Week 4 — Self-Care

Week 5 — Fearful & Overwhelmed

Week 6 — Anger

Week 7 — Regrets

Week 8 — Grief & Your Household

Week 9 — Grief & Your Friendships

Week 10 — Questions for God

Week 11 — Stuck in Grief

Week 12 — Hope & Resilience

Week 13 — What Do I Live For Now?

Just reading those titles tells you something important. GriefShare doesn’t only address missing someone. It addresses living after someone dies. And that can be an entirely different challenge.

“Is This Normal?”

I love that this is where GriefShare begins. Because almost everyone who has experienced deep grief has had some version of this thought: Am I losing my mind? Why can’t I remember anything? Why did I walk into this room? Why can’t I focus? Why am I exhausted after doing absolutely nothing? Why am I angry? Why am I suddenly terrified something will happen to everyone else I love? Why can I laugh one minute and cry the next? Why did hearing one song completely destroy an otherwise decent day? Why am I still struggling when everyone else seems to think I should be doing better? Grief can make normal grief responses feel incredibly abnormal when nobody has explained them to you. There can be enormous relief in learning: Other grieving people experience this too.

Grief Is a Journey, Not a Checklist

One misconception about grief is that if you move through the correct stages in the correct order, eventually you reach the magical land called Acceptance, receive your certificate, and graduate from grief. That isn’t how human beings work. GriefShare’s current curriculum describes grief as an individual journey, acknowledging that everyone’s response is different. You may feel strong for several weeks and suddenly crash. An anniversary may be harder than expected. Or easier. A smell can take you backward. A memory can make you laugh. You may experience joy again and then feel guilty for enjoying yourself. Healing doesn’t require forgetting. Moving forward does not mean leaving your person behind.

In fact, GriefShare’s final session actually addresses finding ways to cherish and honor your loved one’s memory while discovering meaning and purpose in the life that remains. I think that distinction is so important. We are not asking anyone to move on from someone they love. We are learning how to move forward while carrying that love with us.

What If I’m Angry With God?

Come. Really. You don’t have to clean that up before entering a church. Maybe you are angry. Maybe you prayed desperately and the person still died. Maybe you don’t understand why God allowed something to happen. Maybe your faith feels stronger than ever. Maybe your faith feels completely shattered. Maybe you’re somewhere in between and change your mind depending on the hour. There is room for those questions.

One entire GriefShare session is called Questions for God, and the curriculum intentionally addresses questions about God, death, faith, and the afterlife through Scripture. Christian grief support should never require pretending pain doesn’t hurt. The Bible doesn’t. Scripture is filled with grieving people asking hard questions.

What If I’m Not Very Religious?

You are still welcome. GriefShare is openly Christian and rooted in biblical teaching. We will not hide that or bait-and-switch anyone. There will be Scripture. There will be discussion of God. There may be prayer. Our hope is rooted in Jesus. At the same time, GriefShare specifically says that people from other faith backgrounds—and people who are not religious—have attended and found the practical grief support helpful. You do not have to arrive with your theology sorted out. You are allowed to come with questions.

Is GriefShare Therapy?

No. And that distinction is important. GriefShare is a peer support and educational ministry, not individual psychotherapy or clinical mental-health treatment. It is intentionally designed to be facilitated by trained church volunteers, with teaching materials and leader resources provided by GriefShare. Your leaders are there to: Listen, facilitate discussion, encourage, pray, help create a safe and respectful environment, walk beside you. We are not there to diagnose you or “fix” you. Some grieving people may also benefit from professional counseling, medical care, trauma treatment, or another specialized service. You do not have to choose one or the other. GriefShare and professional counseling can serve very different—and sometimes complementary—purposes.

Why Can a Group Help When I Already Have Family and Friends?

Because being loved and being understood are not always the same thing. Your family may love you tremendously. Your friends may desperately want to help. But unless someone has experienced significant grief, it can be difficult to understand things like: Why you still want to talk about the person, why holidays feel different, why sorting belongings can feel impossible, why an innocent comment hurt so badly, why everyone else seems ready for life to return to normal when you already know: There is no going back to that normal.

GriefShare describes the group setting as an important part of grieving because isolation can make grief even more difficult. Sometimes another person saying, “I understand.” means something different when you know they really do.

You May Discover That Grief Can Be Lonely Without Having to Be Solitary

That is one of the things I hope people find in our group. Nobody else can carry your exact grief. Your relationship with the person who died was unique. Your memories are unique. Your circumstances are unique, but you don’t have to walk every part of it by yourself. Maybe somebody else understands widowhood. Maybe another parent understands child loss. Someone understands losing a sibling. Another understands caring for someone through a long illness. Someone else understands a sudden death that made absolutely no sense.

Different stories.

Different relationships.

Different timelines.

But often some remarkably similar feelings.

And suddenly: I’m the only person who feels this way

becomes: Oh. You too!!

That can be powerful.

What If My Loss Was Complicated?

Please don’t assume GriefShare is only for deaths that fit into a neat little story. Loss can come after: long illness, cancer, dementia, suicide, overdose, accident, violence, miscarriage, stillbirth, sudden medical emergencies, complicated family relationships, estrangement that never got repaired before death. There may be relief mixed with grief. Anger mixed with love. Regret. Guilt. Unanswered questions. Things you wish you had said. Things you wish you could take back.

Grief doesn’t become invalid because the relationship was complicated. Sometimes complicated relationships create complicated grief. There is room to talk about regret, anger, household changes, difficult relationships, questions for God, and feeling stuck throughout the GriefShare curriculum.

What If Everyone Else’s Loss Seems “Worse” Than Mine?

Please don’t rank your grief before coming. Someone lost a child. Someone lost a spouse. Someone lost a parent. Someone lost a friend. There is no useful grief Olympics where we determine who earned the right to hurt the most. Your relationship mattered. Therefore the loss matters. You don’t need to apologize for grieving.

What If I Miss a Week?

Come back. Life happens. Illness happens. Work happens. And sometimes grief itself makes getting out the door incredibly difficult. GriefShare’s sessions are intentionally designed to be self-contained, and the official program allows people to join during the 13-week cycle rather than requiring everyone to begin on Week 1. Registered participants can also access session videos through MyGriefShare during their group’s cycle and for a period after the group concludes.

Obviously, we would love to have you every week. Relationships grow through consistency. But missing a meeting does not mean you failed GriefShare. Just come back.

What If I Walk Into the Parking Lot and Almost Leave?

This deserves its own section because I suspect somebody will. You will drive there. Park. Turn off the car. Then sit there thinking: Nope. 😂💜

Maybe your heart pounds. Maybe you suddenly decide you aren’t “grieving enough” to belong there. Maybe you decide you are grieving too much to belong there. Maybe walking into a room where people know why you’re there makes the loss feel too real. Believe me, I understand that feeling. It’s understandable. GriefShare’s own current guidance for nervous first-time attendees says you don’t need to promise yourself anything beyond the first step: come once, sit in the room, and listen. If you make it to the parking lot? Give yourself another five minutes. Then come inside. We’ll meet you there. Shoot me a message and I will meet you at the door!

What Our Leaders Hope to Give You

As one of the three leaders for our Sunday evening group, I want to say this personally: We do not expect to have all the answers. We cannot take your grief away, and we would never want to give you the impression that thirteen meetings somehow erase the loss of someone you love.

That isn’t what healing means.

What we can do is create a place where you don’t have to pretend. A place where somebody can say the person’s name. A place where tears don’t make everyone uncomfortable. A place where laughter isn’t disrespectful. A place where you can ask hard questions. A place where Scripture and faith can meet real pain instead of pretending pain isn’t there. A place where people can learn practical ways to care for themselves and navigate this completely unwanted new life. A place where hope is allowed to be very small at first.

Sometimes hope is not: Everything is going to be okay.

Sometimes hope is: I think I can make it through today.

Then tomorrow. Then another day.

Christianity Does Not Ask Us to Pretend Death Doesn’t Hurt

One of my favorite Scriptures for grief is Psalm 34:18:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Notice what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say God’s people never become brokenhearted. It tells us where God is when we are. Close. That is the kind of faith I hope our GriefShare room reflects.

Not: Stop crying. Have more faith.

But: You are hurting. Come sit with us.

Maybe You Don’t Think You Need a Grief Group

You might not. Not everyone needs the same type of support. But if you have found yourself wondering: Is this normal? Why does nobody understand? Why am I still struggling? Why am I angry? Why am I afraid?  What do I do with their belongings? Why have my friendships changed? Where is God in this? How do I keep living without them? Those are almost exactly the questions GriefShare was created to help people explore. And you do not have to wait until you are falling apart to come. Support isn’t something you have to earn by becoming miserable enough.

Beginning September 13 at Spring Hills Baptist Church 💜

Our new Sunday evening GriefShare group begins September 13, 2026, at Spring Hills Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio.

Spring Hills is located at:

1820 Newark-Granville Road
Granville, Ohio 43023

The church’s mission is to love, live, and lead like Jesus, and its current ministries include Christ-centered support and recovery groups for people navigating difficult seasons of life. I am grateful to be one of the leaders serving our Sunday evening GriefShare group. And I think all three of us would want someone considering coming to know this: You don’t need to impress us. Come tired. Come nervous. Come angry. Come crying. Come completely numb. Come questioning God. Come not knowing whether you even want to be there. Come and listen. That is enough for the first night.

You Don’t Have to Decide About All 13 Weeks Today

Just decide about one evening. September 13. Walk through the door. Meet us. Sit down. Watch the first video. Listen to a few people who understand something about the strange world you have suddenly found yourself living in. And then decide whether you want to come back.

GriefShare itself reminds nervous newcomers that they do not have to make a 13-week commitment before attending their first meeting. One step. That’s all.

Because Grief Was Never Meant to Be Performed

You don’t have to grieve beautifully. You don’t have to inspire anyone. You don’t need the perfect testimony. You don’t need to tell us how God has used everything for good while your heart is still screaming that nothing about this feels good. You don’t have to protect everyone else from your sadness. And you don’t need to leave the person you love behind in order to begin healing. You are allowed to miss them, love them, remember them, talk about them, laugh about them, cry about them, and slowly learn what life looks like now. That is the journey. And you do not have to walk all of it alone.

We Would Love to Save You a Seat 💜

If you or someone you know is grieving the death of a loved one, please consider joining us. Maybe send this post to the person who keeps saying: “I’m fine.” Maybe send it to the friend whose loss happened years ago but you know still carries it quietly. Maybe send it to the parent whose child died. The widow eating dinner alone. The adult child who suddenly became the person responsible for everything after Mom died. The sibling everyone forgets is grieving too. Or maybe this is for you. You do not have to know exactly what you need. You can simply start by showing up.

Sunday evening, September 13.

Spring Hills Baptist Church.

Granville, Ohio.

https://find.griefshare.org/groups/303630

We’ll be there.

And there will be a place for you. 💜

Love and Light

~Mandy