Shortly after my granddad died, my grandmother experienced an extended bout with depression. Elizabeth Kubler Ross claimed that depression is one of the five steps of grief. However, depression can become a chronic condition requiring medical and psychological intervention.

     The holidays can be a particularly difficult time for persons whose loved ones have died. For some, the pain of grief can intensify during the seasons when families gather together for special occasions. While many of us are celebrating, there are others who are suffering silently.

     Grandmother was one such person. Thankfully, she sought medical advice from her doctor. Being a wise, old, country physician, Grandmother’s doctor encouraged her to get outside of herself by serving others. The following Sunday, Grandmother began a Sunday School class that she led for twenty-five years. She started a feeding ministry for those in the community that had little to eat. She visited other members of her church when they were sick or dying.

     Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (Luke 9:24, NIV). The Great Physician himself has prescribed the antidote for the holiday blues. The best way to heal the human heart is to lose oneself in service to others. Solace is discovered through sacrifice.

     So, for those of you who struggle with the chronic pain of grief, your greatest blessing may come in a surprising way. It may just be waiting for you in the loneliness of your elderly neighbor’s home or around the corner with a parent who has just lost her job or in a soup kitchen where love is dished out onto a dinner plate. Take it from an old, country physician. The best medicine you will find for a grieving heart is to get outside of yourself.

Prayer
Lord God, I pray that you will come and heal my heart in your time. Grant me the desire to move beyond my own pain by offering your healing love to someone who hurts just like I do. By losing myself in service to someone else, grant me the grace to find peace for my own soul. Through Christ’s name I pray. Amen.