Grief

I often find it very awkward to be around someone who is grieving. I have experienced grief on many levels, but I often feel that it has been on... a more mild level then many people I know. I have friends and family who have lost mothers, fathers, siblings, children, and spouses. Some by "natural" causes, others through tragedy. In those moments when I am around them I feel so much pain and sympathy for them that I want to be able to take away the hurt they are feeling, I want to be able to say just the right thing. Yet I know, from my own experiences, that nothing said is ever the right thing. I can't even imagine the pain they must be feeling so I feel like I have no right to say anything, yet I know that is expected of me to give some condolence. So all I can do is utter, "I am praying for you." I know that I must leave the comfort to the true comforter, God. Only He can really understand the pain... only He feels it in its truest form. All I can truly do is pray for them and hope that their loved one was a believer... that way they can hold on to joy of knowing that they will see them again some day. I know that is what has helped me through the loss of my grandfather. His death has hit me harder then any other has. I often think of him and wish he was still here... but then I remember that he is in the most joyful and peaceful place in the universe... heaven. He no longer is suffering and probably for the first time in his life he is truly happy and satisfied. He has seen the face of God! How can I grieve when I know that! How can I be selfish and wish him back to this world of sin, pain, and suffering.