4 Ways To Help A Hurting Friend

For: RELEVANTmagazine.com

A couple of years ago my life was upended. You probably know the type of thing I’m referring to—a major loss, a game changer. The devastation uprooted me, so it was a grounding grace when friends came in softly and pulled up next to me. They couldn’t live my life for me or feel the load of it quite like I did, but for a moment I could sense their desire to be supportive and it felt like cool water on a burn.

A friend of mine, a woman in her late 60s, has allowed life’s experiences—both the terrible and the beautiful—to grow her heart large. She welcomes brokenness, aware of how love and suffering are inseparable.

While having coffee a short time into the unraveling chaos of my loss, this friend offered to hold hope for me when I couldn’t see it. I never realized that hope could be heavy, but I quickly discovered that there are times when maintaining old hopes can feel crushing… Read more.