Grief. It will not shrink. It will not break.

People say grief is like an ocean carrying you away on the current being hit wave after wave holding you under water. Some say grief is like a fire on your skin. The pain and blistered skin rages for hours or days, sensitive to the slightest reminder of the flame. And still others say grief is like a dark cloud that follows you around obstructing your view, raining on you at inopportune times. Just when you think it is lifting, a memory triggers it to come back in full force.

The problem with all of these analogies from a grievers point of view is that an ocean’s waves will subside, the crackling skin will form a scab and heal, and that dark cloud will eventually lift. Grief is always with us. It does not go away. It does not shrink. It does not break. It hides waiting to catch you when you are shopping at a store, cleaning out a closet, celebrating a holiday and your loved one is not there.

But just like grief does not leave us neither does hope. Even when we feel our lowest we can feel the hope that others carry for us. Hope is like the sun. It may be cloudy one day but we know it will eventually come back, warming our skin, bringing us back to light. Hope can come in many forms: a hug from a friend, a cardinal in the window, a child’s smile. Any of these things can bring us back and remind us that yes grief is here to stay but one day you will have hope as well.