Rooted Recommends: A Resource for the Grieving

Speaking as a widow who has raised three sons during the ten years since their father died, I have read a number of Christian resources on grief. One of the best is a relatively new blog from Clarissa Moll. Her excellent meditation “He Would Want You to Live” makes two simple but profound statements about how to live with grief. First, Moll says, “The only way to grow through grief is to feel the full weight of its pain.” This plain hard truth is followed by the equally true — and hopeful– reality that “he would want you to live,” meaning that our lost loved one is honored and even celebrated when we allow grief to open us up rather than shut us down. This article will be comforting and encouraging as you walk alongside students and families experiencing grief, or as you experience loss in your own life.

Hope this helps.

Anna Meade Harris is the Senior Director of Content at Rooted, co-host of the Rooted Parent podcast, and the author of God's Grace for Every Family: Biblical Encouragement for Single Parent Families and the Churches That Seek to Love Them Well (Zondervan, 2024), winner of Christianity Today's 2024 Book Award in the Marriage, Family, and Singleness category. She and her husband Tom are members of Church of the Cross in Birmingham, AL. Anna enjoys gardening, great books, running, hiking, ice cream, and spending as much time as possible with her three grown sons. She wants to live by a mountain stream in Idaho someday.

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