Good grief!

Good grief! 

by Joel Howard

Kids know grief

Kids show grief

They're not like adults who hide grief

I taught my kids two kinds of grief:

The good and the bad

Hitting, screaming, self-inflicting 

Those are the bad 

And we don't need a lesson to learn them

We're quick to do them

Crying, talking, self-disclosing

Taking time to share and mourn 

Are the good forms of grief, I tell them

Now when they talk about their pain

Come to daddy and express their shame

I with a loud voice and a smile proclaim: 

"Good grief, child! Good grief!" 

Their lesson is mine too

By God may I do just like them 

As often as I mourn may I slow down 

for the worst pain to run its course 

That my Father might proclaim 

His grace on me again

"Good grief!" 

As He holds me in His undying love