Earlier this year, a close friend of mine passed away. This sweet woman was incredibly unique. Besides adoring vintage clothing, she always had extremely short hair. After her death, her son wanted to plan a funeral service with her unique style in mind. So, he immediately started working with the helpful staff at a respected funeral home in our hometown. After relaying his desires to the professional employees at the funeral home, my friend’s son decided to omit a viewing on the night before the funeral. Instead, he had the funeral home staff bring his mother’s body to the church two hours before the funeral service. He also gave anyone who wanted to speak at the funeral service an opportunity. On this blog, I hope you will discover the wonderful ways the staff at a funeral home can help you plan a unique funeral for a loved one.
It can be extremely difficult for someone to plan a burial service while entrenched in grief. If you see a loved one struggling to plan a burial service for someone who passed away, reaching out to help is one of the kindest acts you can show the person. Follow these simple dos and don'ts to help plan the service and show your support for your loved one:
Do Offer to Do Specific Tasks
If your loved one is planning a burial service for the first time, he or she may not be sure how to proceed. If you offer your general help, that can feel overwhelming. Instead, offer to do specific tasks that you know your loved one needs to be done. For example, you may offer to babysit the person's young children during the burial service so that is one less thing they need to plan.
If you know that certain jobs need to be filled within the burial service itself, you may suggest people who would be a good fit. The person may struggle to decide who should be pallbearers, so offering up names can be useful. You may also offer to do big chores like calling people to notify them of the burial service date, time, and location.
Don't Judge the Choices the Person Makes
When you help plan a burial service, it's your job to be supportive. If your loved one asks for your opinion on something, be generous with your honest thoughts, but filter them through the lens of protecting their feelings during a tough time.
If the person doesn't ask for your opinion, keep it to yourself. You may think that a certain choice isn't the best, but unless you know the person is acting out of extreme grief, respect the fact that the person is likely to make choices you wouldn't necessarily make.
Do Offer to Be There to Simply Listen
Although your loved one may feel fully capable of planning the burial service alone, there may be moments when the going gets too tough the person wants to scream. Be there to listen. You may even let the person know that you are available 24 hours per day if you are willing to keep your phone on around the clock while the person is entrenched in grief.
Finally, every person will need help in slightly different ways. Pay close attention to how your loved one responds to your offer of help. If you get the feeling that the person wants to ask for more, explain how much you are willing to do to help. By being there for your friend during such a difficult time, your kindness may have a lasting impact and will likely be remembered for years to come.
For more information on burial services, contact a funeral home service near you.
Share13 December 2017
