Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. — Matthew 5:4

Recently I conducted four funerals in four weeks and by the end of the month I was emotionally and spiritually exhausted. It’s hard enough to conduct a funeral for a stranger, far more so for a friend. And these people were my friends, friends with whom I had attended parties, shared meals, and enjoyed a laugh or a good joke. At the reception following the fourth of those funerals, I leaned over to someone and only half jokingly whispered, “If there is one more funeral at this church any time soon, it might just be for me!”

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was caught up in my own grief. As the “professional minister,” who is supposed to help others with their grief, I was wandering through a grief-filled w…