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Whether friends or family have lost a child or are soon to lose a child to illness, the giving of support to the parents who must face this terrible experience is one of the most difficult and important responsibilities another human being will undertake in their lifetime. It must be given freely and without condition. If there is love between the supporter and the sufferers of the bereavement then this is a given.
Support comes in many forms, from those on the periphery of sufferers to those who hold hands and sit for days with the parents, sharing every sob and forced heartbeat.
If, having felt compelled to give support, you find yourself on the periphery of the grieving group, you may find that you have an extremely important contribution to make.
It's these selfless givers on the periphery that keep everything together, from making the tea to ferrying family members to and fro as the many cold-hearted decisions and tasks which need to be carried out at these sad times are undertaken.
It is important that the everyday responsibilities of the grieving parents are taken over to some degree, as long as there is no specific objection to this by another. As time passes the parents will need some continuity, some familiar handle to grasp in their journey out of the darkness. The peripheral supporter provides this for them by taking care of the mundane. To give this support without thinking once of your own requirements, satisfaction or gratification is the most honest support any person could give to a grieving parent.
When at last a glimmer of sunshine falls on the bereaved family, they will remember your gift. It may be the very thing which brings on the first smile they share on their long journey out from the pain.

Learn more about this author, Eddie French.
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