“Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg, fall in love, drop a jar of applesauce.” Natalie Goldberg, author

Try as we may, life is anything but orderly. Sure, we make plans as we should, we take steps to ensure a secure future for our families, and put ourselves in a good position for success and happiness.

But then, life happens. We break an arm. Get the flu. Our water heater breaks. The car won’t start. Someone we love passes away. These are the things that interrupt our day to day existence and steal some of our joy and peace.

In most cases, the fix is simple. We go to the doctor and have a cast put on our arm.  We drink plenty of fluids and get rest when we’re sick. We call the plumber and get a new water heater, unless of course we’re a do-it-yourselfer.  But when someone we love passes on, there is no quick fix. No magic words, and no magic pill to fix it.

This is why we call it “working through grief.” Because it does require action on our part to move forward, even when we feel helpless and hopeless. We find out, over time, that as we go through the process—the shock, denial, anger, sadness— and with the help of dear friends and family, we are able to corral it. We learn to accept the changes it brings. We will always remember, always love, and always carry wonderful memories in our hearts. Life will continue to happen and we will continue grow stronger day by day.