Grief and Brokenness

A quote from Experiencing Grief by H. Norman Wright says:

In a sense grieving is a show of faith. We are trusting God to hold us in our most vulnerable time, when our feelings are raw, our life is in pieces, and our strength is gone.

An example of grief is a broken clay pot. If you take it outside and drop it or take a hammer to this clay pot, it will break into several pieces. Then take a marker and on some of the inside pieces write what your grief feels like (pain, a broken heart.) And then on the outside pieces write some of the things that support you and what is helpful in your grief (friends who listen.)

Then reassemble the pot with glue. While doing so, use this time to talk with God. Ask for His presence. Tell Him how you feel on the inside. Tell Him the pain you have. He wants to hear from you. He wants to meet with you in the brokenness. As you glue the pieces that have things on them that support you thank God for those things, the people that hold you as you cry and listen while you express your anger.

As you complete the pot remember that God is the original Potter and that He wants His name to be written somewhere on one of the outside pieces. He wants to support you, to be the glue that holds together the brokenness.

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

Psalm 34:18

This activity can be done individually and also as a family with school aged children.