The COVID-19 pandemic has generated grief in all of our lives. We have lost jobs, financial security, health, community connections, and the opportunity to gather and celebrate significant milestones such as graduations, weddings, births, and anniversaries. In addition, we are reminded daily of the lives lost to the virus. These losses raise larger questions for us as Christians. How do we understand and process grief as people of faith? How can we support vulnerable and grieving members o...

I was not aware of the concept of frozen grief until I stumbled across an article by Marilyn Gardner of Communicating Across Boundaries. All of a sudden pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. Yes, this is what is happening. The Frozen Sadness of Ambiguous Loss explains how the grief process is arrested when we don't even realize we need to grieve. Ambiguous loss is a psychological term meant to apply to those losing loved ones to Alzheimer's or those with an absent father who might re...

COMMUNICATING ACROSS BOUNDARIES

I grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I only moved there when I was ten but had lived a few places before then.  So when we got there and stayed for almost eight years – all of middle and high school – it was home. The sprawling mess of corrugated tin structures and grand houses, …

In some ways, her graduation this week is a continuation of everything I’ve been experiencing since I gave birth over 18 years ago. Motherhood feels like an extended journey of letting go. By: Melissa Kruger