L.I.V.E. – Love Infinite, Vigorously Exercised

  • Grief Needs a Circle: Why Companionship Heals What Isolation Cannot

    There are some seasons of loss that you simply cannot survive alone. You can keep functioning, of course. You can show up at work, respond to messages, serve at church, and say “I’m fine” with a semi-convincing smile. But deep inside, grief sits like a weight on your chest, pressing down your breath, your voice,…

    Ze Selassie

  • When Grief Moves in With Us: Becoming a Gentle Companion to Hurting Families

    Grief doesn’t knock politely before it enters a home. It moves in through job losses and diagnoses, through miscarriages and funerals, through betrayals, relocations, estrangements and “we just don’t talk anymore.” By the time many couples or families reach out for help, the symptoms look like anger, shutdown, porn use, rebellion, nagging, stonewalling, depression, “attitude,”…

    Ze Selassie

  • When Grief Knocks: Why Companionship Heals More Than Advice

    Grief companionship is a ministry of presence, not answers. Learn how to walk with the bereaved in emotionally honest, biblically grounded, and psychologically wise ways, with practical steps for churches, families, and friends. What hurting people need first: a companion, not a fixer When loss breaks into someone’s life, most of us reach for words;…

    Ze Selassie

  • Grief Companionship: The Sacred Work of Seeing People Whole

    Grief is not a problem to be solved; it is a person to be seen. When sorrow enters a life, what heals first is not a clever answer but a faithful presence. In pastoral care and Christian counseling, our task is to sit close to the ache, to name reality without reducing it, and to…

    Ze Selassie

  • Understanding Grief: Compassionate Presence and Assessment

    Seeing Through Tears: The Sacred Art of Grief Companionship Grief is not a problem to be solved, it’s a story that needs to be witnessed. When we sit beside a grieving soul, we’re not just listening for pain; we’re attending to the sacred evidence of love. In Christian counseling, grief companionship is not about offering…

    Ze Selassie

  • When Grief Visits Home: A Pastoral Guide to Companionship, Comfort, and Courage

    Grief does not keep tidy hours. It arrives in delivery rooms where joy and exhaustion mingle, at kitchen tables strewn with homework and unpaid bills, and in sanctuaries where candles flicker beside a child’s photograph. As pastoral caregivers and Christian counselors, our calling is not to explain pain away but to accompany it; patiently, prayerfully,…

    Ze Selassie

  • When Love Learns a New Language: Practicing Grief Companionship

    Grief changes the way we breathe, speak, remember, and pray. It can turn ordinary rooms into sanctuaries and familiar dates into landmines. In those fragile spaces, the most healing gift isn’t a technique, it’s presence. True grief companionship begins with a calm, sacred posture that validates sorrow, protects dignity, and offers wise, timely guidance without…

    Ze Selassie

  • When Love Listens Long: Grief Companionship Across Every Season of Adult Life

    Why Grief Companionship (Not Just “Counseling”) Matters Grief is a normal, holy, human response to change and loss. It shows up not only at funerals but at milestones, detours, and quiet disappointments. “Fixing” often backfires; companionship (steady, respectful presence) helps hearts metabolize pain into meaning. Grief companions don’t rush, rescue, or reduce; they remain. They…

    Ze Selassie

  • When Tears Teach Us: Practicing Grief Companionship on the Frontlines of Care

    Grief is not a problem to be solved, it’s a person to be honored. In crisis work, I’ve observed that the most transformative moments are not when we speak brilliantly, but when we stay faithfully. Presence, not perfection, is what helps a heart begin to breathe again. Walking alongside survivors of domestic violence, individuals navigating…

    Ze Selassie

  • Three Steps to Effective Grief Care: Presence, Practice, Praise

    When Development Meets Loss: A Pastoral Map for Grief Companionship Why Grief Needs Both Psychology and Theology Grief is more than pain to be reduced; it is love searching for a new way to live. Psychology helps us understand how people grow; cognitively, socially, morally, spiritually. Theology grounds us in a hope that does not…

    Ze Selassie