Grief. It's painful. It hits at the strangest times. It's draining. I hate to see people I care about grieving. I wish so much that it would just go away. That the hurt and sadness would be gone, without a trace. But that is not the way it works, is it? We go through the process and find healing somewhere in the midst of it.
But there is a great blessing in grief. How sad would it be to have nothing to grieve? To lose a friend, a family member and pay your respects but feel no loss. That might be the saddest of all. The pain and grief from the passing of a loved one points to the love and relationship that was there. And for that, I am grateful.

"O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be."

from "O Love that Will Not Let Me Go" by George Matheson, 1882