Love Among Strangers

Last weekend I had the honor of facilitating a couple workshops at the Bereaved Parents of the USA National Conference in St Louis, MO.

1) "Compassion Fatigue Prevention - Maintain Effective Leadership by Practicing Self-Care"

2) "Grief: The Unplanned Road Trip".

John 13:34-35 NIV

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

My faith has been renewed in humanity once again simply by witnessing the heartfelt encouragement and love that was shared among strangers that weekend. The BP/USA conferences are where parents, grandparents, and siblings are reminded that they are not alone on this grief journey and that there are people who can relate to the depth of their pain.

I still remember our first conference 20 + years ago and how I felt being immersed in the love, comfort, and encouragement of those bereaved parents. It was as if God had given us our tribe, people who understood us, people who didn't look concerned when we expressed that we just wanted to be with our child, instead they said, "me too".

New friendships can be formed through sharing our children's life story and why they were so special to us. If you are a bereaved parent, grandparent, or sibling I encourage you to share their story!

Some of the workshops reminded us to be intentional with how we process our grief, and the importance of keeping the right perspective, because our loss can make us bitter or better. I knew I wanted to pay it forward and give the same love, support and hope to those who felt hopeless just as we had received so many years ago.

In the beginning, I couldn't see beyond the next day without feeling overwhelmed by it. Now almost 24 years later I can honestly say I am no longer overwhelmed, and I am grateful to have met all the wonderful resilient people over the years because they taught me valuable lessons on resiliency, perseverance, compassion and empathy.

The love you witness at these conferences is a love that goes beyond all boundaries, religions, ethnicity. My wish is for our entire country and world to experience it quite honestly, but without having to experience the death of a child because this kind of love can truly change our world.

Being a bereaved parent has also taught me that love comes in many different packages. We have a unique, special bond and love for our children, and we want to offer comfort, empathy, encouragement, and healing love to those who are struggling.

James 5:16 NIV

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

My prayer is that we all get to a place where we share the love God talks about, which is agape love. This is the highest expression of love - a pure, selfless, unconditional love.

Our challenge is to find ways to share this kind of love with our neighbors, strangers, friends and family alike.

Galatians 6:2 NIV

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Let's become intentional with caring for those who are not like us. Find ways to offer kindness, compassion, but most importantly pray for them!

When we view every person as a friend of ours and not a stranger, we will begin treating them differently. Approach every person as Jesus does and it will positively impact and change your relationships!

1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Written by: Jill Theriault

Crossroads Coaching - @crossroadscoachingongodstime