Discussing
The pastoral implications of Sheryl Sandberg’s Facebook post

Sheryl Sandberg's public grieving in the wake of her husband's death is the best kind of vulnerability - the kind that nurtures community.

Thanks for sharing. I think that her Opening up like that will heal her sooner. Grief is a monster all by itself. My husband died 11 years ago and I walked through grief by myself way to long. I wish that I had gotten some counseling but thank God I am better now.

I have been watching my 87 year old father deal with the loss of my 91 year old step-mother on March 17 this year. We lost her due to stroke, dementia, and old age. His grief has been profound and unfiltered. There is little i or my brothers have been able to do other than listen to his memories of her and Help him through his days. Yes, grief is a monster. However, my father is seeing a counselor who is guiding him through his loss. He is slowly healing...

I'm so glad Ms. Sandberg is willing to be vulnerable and that she didn't use those platitudes that also make me cringe. Thanks for sharing.

Having buried three close family members--including my parents--in the last three months, I have become convinced even more convinced that honest grief and authentic pain is far superior to disguised or disconnected spirituality. I loved Sandberg's raw honesty and find it refreshing when pain is dealt with as part of life to be embraced not avoided. In our recent losses, the depth of relationship we have experienced with family and friends in the middle of the grief is one of the most profound expressions of the heart of Jesus we've ever known.

Please thank her for me too, Erica. My sister's husband died too young the day before I read her post, so I brought a pretty raw perspective myself. Her humble offering of a container of the "30 days of religious period of mourning" was a comfort. I appreciated the dignity of her sharing.