“Grief is the price we pay for love”

One of the reasons we love update meetings so much is that we get to catch up on what is going on in clients’ lives alongside their overall update. We love hearing about trips being planned, kids getting married, grandchildren coming into the world, and new hobbies and endeavors! During a meeting with David and Maria Kozycz, they mentioned that they were leading a GriefShare group at their church. We know everyone experiences grief at some point in their life, and we wanted to hear more about their experience navigating grief with others in this group.

GriefShare is a ministry that was started 25 years ago and is the #1 grief support group in the world. They provide 13-week programs that can be joined at any time. Each weekly GriefShare group begins with a 30-minute video featuring respected experts on grief-related topics and helpful stories from people who have experienced loss. Their insights help participants manage their emotions, gain clarity, and find answers to questions as they walk through the grief process. Each session ends with a time of sharing, discussion, and prayer.

David and Maria were asked to lead a group because they had experienced significant loss and grief in their lives. They lost a daughter at 4 years old due to heart complications and Maria’s mother passed away one year later. It was an extremely difficult time, and they wished they had a resource like GriefShare to help them navigate all they were going through. Their unique experience with grief has helped them relate to people as they go through the difficult process of grieving the loss of a loved one.

As you know, everyone processes grief differently. David and Maria have experienced and observed the many ways people cope. Some are talkative from the beginning, openly sharing their feelings and experiences from the first meeting. Others take more time to open up, maybe not saying a word until the final meeting of the session. Neither way is right or wrong, and David and Maria are honored to be able to walk along side these people during this difficult time. They have formed many close relationships through their time leading GriefShare groups with many becoming close friends and others that are now like family.

Thank you, David and Maria, for sharing your story with us and for the important work you do making a difference in the lives of many!

For more information on GriefShare visit griefshare.org