How do I handle unexpected moments when grief overwhelms me?

You are standing in the supermarket, trolley half-full, and a song comes on. That song. And in three seconds you are not in Pick n Pay on a Saturday morning anymore. You are somewhere else entirely, missing someone who is not coming back. Grief does not keep a schedule. It arrives in car parks and kitchens and quiet Tuesday afternoons, and it can flatten you without warning. You are not falling apart. You are loving someone who is gone. And into that exact moment, God speaks:

"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

- Psalm 34:18 (KJV)

Tonight, find two minutes alone. It does not have to be long. Tell God the name of the person you are missing, out loud if you can. Say what you miss most, just one thing. You are not being dramatic. You are bringing your broken heart to the one the Bible says is closest to it.

Whose name comes to mind first when the grief catches you off guard?

God, I cannot always predict when it hits me. But you are right here in the middle of it. Hold my broken heart today. I trust that you are close, even when I cannot feel it. Amen.

Tomorrow: Why do I keep doing the things I hate about myself?