Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
What death can never take away
When I Was Growing Up , The Christian Science Monitor often carried in its Home Forum section a short feature highlighted by a small sundial. Underneath was the simple inscription, "I record only the sunny hours." It's interesting how something like that sticks in one's memory. Over the last few years as I've dealt with the passing of close friends, that sundial has given me good counsel.
The passing of family members and dear friends brings out a complex range of emotions in people—a mixture of grief, loneliness, anger, guilt, helplessness, fear. Some people go through a long siege of darkness. Others rise above these feelings more quickly but find that a special day or anniversary or holiday, or simply a quiet night, can trigger a sudden surge of sorrow and loss. We go through this privately sometimes, and from time to time we are aware that people around us are also wrestling with these dark shadows. In our hearts we yearn to help, but too often we are at a loss to know what to say—what will be helpful.
About the author
Richard Bergenheim is a contributing editor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

October 27, 2003 issue
View Issue-
Hearts lifted above grief
Marilyn Jones
-
letters
with contributions from Cherie B. Nelson, Joy V. Smith, Alistair Budd, Maria Calvi, Maralee Knowlen, Ellen Tumlin White
-
items of interest
with contributions from Tim McGuire, Jason Keyser, Eugene B. Habecker
-
What death can never take away
By Richard Bergenheim
-
God gave Enrico another grandpa
By Annette Falisi
-
Stepping into the sunlight
By Warren Bolon Senior Writer
-
moving past the agony
By Richard Biever
-
Prayer on the wind
By Wendy Wylie Winegar
-
Welcome home
By Sarah C. Nelson
-
give me a break!
By Barbara Weigt
-
Through a spiritual lens—A CARING HAND
Peter Anderson
-
Where do you look for love?
By Lisa Taylor
-
Troubleshooting
William Stafford
-
Prayer for the Middle East
Name removed by request
-
Symptoms of tendinitis healed
Bonny Laver
-
Healing of kidney stones
Ana Cláudia Xavier
-
No longer addicted to smoking
Karin Staehler
-
A better path than grief
Stephen T. Gray