When I see someone walking through a dark valley or trudging through a long wilderness, I want to reach out, but I’m often at a loss for what to do.
That’s why I find articles featuring what I like to call “from-the-trenches” guidance to be so helpful. What better way to learn—to truly understand—than from someone who’s been there and knows first hand what it’s like?
Tricia Lott Williford, a widow with two young sons, recently wrote a column of this type titled “4 Ways to Offer Help to Someone in Crisis,” in which she listed questions and statements that do not help, each paired with words that do.
Author Liz Curtis Higgs added her wise perspective at (in)courage a while back with this insightful piece: “What Not to Say (When You Gotta Say Something).”