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Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote to a friend who had just lost a loved one, "Nothing can make up for the absence of someone we love, and it would be wrong to try to find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through.  That sounds very hard at first, but at the same time it is a great consolation, for the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bonds between us.  It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap; he does not fill it, but on the contrary, he keeps it empty and so helps us to keep alive our former communion with each other, even at the cost of pain."

There is no doubt that great pain comes with loss. How can we best support those who are grieving? Is there any point in grieving?  Below is a collection of helpful resources.

Grief and Loss
How does a person cope with grief and loss? Is there any way to support a person who is grieving? These two resources suggest some helpful answers to those questions.

Good Grief
by Roger Edwards for Discipleship Journal
Grieving is a difficult and time-consuming process, but it is a very important process. For the Christian, writes Roger Edwards, grief ultimately ends in hope. Read more.

Please Do, and Please Don't
A guide: what to say—and not to say—to a grieving widow. 

Bereavement Work
Christianity Today offers a brief review of the 2006 book Traveling Through Grief: Learning to Live Again After the Death of a Loved One and an interview with the authors, Susan J. Zonnebelt-Smeenge and Robert C. DeVries. Check it out here.

Hospice
Hospice provides skilled, compassionate end-of-life care for dying persons and their families. Learn more about hospice care here, and find a hospiceprovider in your area.

GriefShare is for people grieving the death of a loved one or experiencing other difficult life situations, such as separation and divorce, a loved one who is dying, estrangement, loss of a loved one to a cult, loss of custody of a child through divorce, and more. GriefShare offers seminars and support groups across the country, led by people who understand grief and want to help. Or you can sign up for their daily emails, which contain advice and encouragement for living with and moving through the grieving process.