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I adore my staff and feel so privileged to work with some extraordinary women at our clinics! One of our employees and Agroshare core team member, Summer Gilreath, has submitted an article she thought would be helpful as we wrap up the summer and start looking ahead towards the holiday season. 

Summer had this to say: “We recently lost a friend and death always gets me thinking. Every one of us has to deal with the loss of someone we care about. We have all struggled with grief in our lives. I found this article with five excellent suggestions about how to respond to others’ grief. It brings up things I wish I had thought about at the moment. I agree that when you don’t mention the deceased person, it can feel like you are trying to erase them. We don’t always have to agree with everything, and I don’t agree with this entire article, but I think it offers excellent suggestions for anyone who might know someone struggling with grief.”

We do not post or promote religious views on Agroshare because we feel passionately that everyone should have a right to their own beliefs. Our focus instead is health, well-being, nutrition, self-sufficiency, and community-building, and we strive every day as a team to be as inclusive as possible. It is important to note that the article linked below contains a particular religious view (as it is written from a Christian perspective).

Although the article is written both with a religious view in mind and a focus on a specific time of year (the winter holiday season), I felt it important to share what Summer had passed on to me. Pursuing vibrant health means not only exercising and eating nutritious food; it also means protecting our mental health, enjoying our lives, and seeking support when we need it. 

I want Agroshare to be a place for Alabamians to come to seek education about all those facets of life. I also want this site to provide a sense of community and a feeling that you are not alone. With that in mind, if you’ve lost a loved one or know someone who has, no matter what time of year it is, you may benefit from some of the thoughts shared in the following article:

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-grieving-people-wish-you-knew-at-christmas

 As always, if you are struggling with grief, anxiety, or depression, please reach out to a trusted medical professional for proper support.

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