From Grieving Alone to Helping Others Heal: Ebony’s GriefShare Story
Ebony grew up with a front-row seat to strength.
Her mom was a single mother, and Ebony was her only child. For most of her life, it had simply been the two of them. Her mother taught her to work hard, pursue her goals, chase her dreams, be independent, and become a strong woman.
So when her mom died suddenly, everyone knew it would be a devastating loss. They knew how close Ebony and her mother were. They knew how deeply connected their lives had been.
What they may not have seen was just how much pain Ebony was carrying beneath the surface.
On the outside, Ebony looked steady. Capable. Strong. But inside, she was struggling with loneliness, abandonment, exhaustion, and grief she did not know how to process.
Her mother’s death had not only taken away someone she loved. It had shaken the foundation of her life. The person who had encouraged her, shaped her, and walked with her through everything was gone. And because the loss was so sudden, Ebony found herself overwhelmed by emotions she had never been taught how to name or navigate.
Then she found GriefShare.
“GriefShare was life changing for me,” Ebony says.
Through GriefShare, Ebony began to understand what was happening inside her. She learned how to recognize grief triggers and ambushes. She learned what to do with the loneliness. She found language for the sense of abandonment she was carrying. And perhaps just as importantly, she found people who understood.
GriefShare gave her practical tools. But it also gave her support and community.
That combination helped Ebony begin to heal. She was no longer trying to survive her grief by herself. She was surrounded by others who were also walking through loss, learning together how to face each day with honesty, hope, and faith.
Over time, the group that helped Ebony through grief became a community she stayed connected to. And eventually, her role began to change.
She moved from participant to volunteer.
At first, Ebony simply listened. Then she began helping in small ways, offering a prayer or leading an icebreaker. As she grew more comfortable, she started helping with step-by-step discussion and guiding conversations after the videos.
Her leadership did not begin with having all the answers. It began with presence. With listening. With a willingness to serve from the place where she herself had been helped.
Today, Ebony leads because she knows what it feels like to wonder how you will make it through the next day—or even the next minute—after a loss.
Ebony’s story reflects one of the most powerful things about GriefShare: healing often becomes a doorway to ministry. A person comes in carrying their own pain, receives care, gains tools, and experiences the support of Christian community. Then, over time, they begin to offer that same comfort to someone else.
Ebony describes it as a circle.
You start by receiving help. You gain tools that help you survive and heal. Then you begin to share those tools with others. And as you help them, the act of serving continues to help you too.
Her grief has not disappeared. But it has been transformed.
Ebony has learned that grief is not a sign of weakness. It is evidence of love.
“We grieve because we love,” she says. “And if you’re grieving hard, it’s because you loved hard.”
That truth has helped Ebony see her mother’s life in a new way. In the years since her loss, she has come to recognize how deeply her mother impacted the people around her. Her mom planted seeds of love, strength, faithfulness, and care. And now Ebony is living in the fruit of those seeds.
“I’m grateful for the life that she lived,” Ebony says. “And so I just want to live that same type of life.”
That is why Ebony leads today.
She leads because GriefShare helped her find support when she felt alone. She leads because she learned that even strong people need a place to grieve. She leads because she knows the tools, community, and hope she received can help someone else keep going.
And she leads because her mother’s legacy continues through the way she now cares for others.
What began as a season of deep loss has become a ministry of comfort. Ebony’s pain has not been wasted. Through GriefShare, God has used her healing to help others find hope in theirs.
Ebony’s story shows what can happen when someone who has walked through deep loss chooses to sit with others in theirs.
You may not feel fully ready. You may not have all the answers. But God often uses people who know what pain feels like to bring comfort to someone else.
There are people in your church and community who are grieving right now—trying to be strong while quietly falling apart inside. They need a safe place to process their loss, receive support, and be reminded they are not alone.
Maybe God has been stirring something in you. Maybe you’ve wondered whether your church could do more after the funeral, after the meals stop, and after everyone else goes back to normal.
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