By Morgan Mizell

The natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — Members of Parkway Baptist Church’s GriefShare program are fluent in the language of grief and they are inviting any and all who have suffered a loss to be a part of their ninth GriefShare session which begins Aug. 27.

This program helped church member Danny Richards through one of the most difficult times of his life.

Following a hunting accident in December 2014, Richards began to question all he knew about God.

“In this accident, a man lost his life,” Richards said. “He was a very good man and it caused me to have so much bitterness.

“How could God let this happen and how was this in his plan?”

Even after members of the victim’s family came to Richards and told them they knew it was an accident and they forgave him, he found it impossible to forgive himself.

“The grief and pain was consuming me,” Richards said. “My family was concerned about me because they could see how depressed I was getting.”

Richards’ life changed and he experienced a wide range of emotions. The pain and sadness grew so much that at points he considered self-harm.

“I lost part of myself that day and I will never get it back,” he said. “I know there are still some who blame me, and I don’t blame them for that.”

Richards was trying to face this situation alone until fellow church members Debbie and Glenn Mizell talked to him about GriefShare.

“I was having trouble sleeping and my work was suffering,” Richards said. “I was near the point of leaving the church and the pain and bitterness were consuming my life.”

GriefShare offered Richards a safe place to share his story.

Since he started the program, he has been able to share his testimony with the church and talk more openly about what happened. Although he continues going to church and grows in his faith, he has not been able to return to the woods.

“I have hunted most of my life,” Richards said. “I tried to go back to hunting, but it did not work. I’m not the same person I was and it is hard to sit in the woods. I loved the woods.”

Richards said anyone dealing with any kind of grief should consider coming to the GriefShare program and experience the help it can provide.

“It will show you God is there with us through our grief,” Richards said. “ I found out the grace of God through GriefShare.”

Debbie Mizell said the 13-week program is for anyone who has lost a loved one or a friend. Whether the loss is recent or from the distant past, it doesn’t matter, she said.

The meetings will be in the Oasis Room of Parkway Church. Participants do not have to be members of the church.

“We hope to see people come and be comforted by those who will walk alongside them in their grief,” Mizell said. “We all know that true comfort only comes from God. Each person’s grief journey is different and their relationship to the one they lost is unique only to them. We don’t rank loss.”

Mizell said the most important guideline of the program to her is that of confidentiality.

“Everything that is said in GriefShare is confidential and it stays there,” Mizell said. “We have to trust each other to be able to share openly,”

For more information about the program, call the church office at 601-442-7434, Debbie Mizell at 601-807-9738 or Glenn Mizell at 601- 807-7207.

Information is also available at the GriefShare website at griefshare.org.