Braving the Broken: When You Don’t Know What to Do or Say

“We’ll watch the soccer game with you and then afterward we’ll go out to dinner with our husb…”  Her words stopped short.  We felt their weight as soon as the sound escaped her lips.  And awkward silence filled the car.

Husbands.  She was going to say, husbands.  We all knew it; we heard it coming.  Except, her husband wasn’t here any longer.  She had been widowed for a few months now and was still adjusting to her new role. Alone.

The discomfort was palpable.

What do you say when you don’t know what to say? 

Do you avert your eyes and look away?  Pretend you really didn’t know what was coming next?  Do you give an easy out and change the subject, interject with a quick life preserver that numbs the awkward for everyone involved?

I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see that momentary flash of recognition and pain in her eyes, her own surprise at the still raw wounds she is learning to guard so carefully.

Sure I could ignore it, but the hurting aren’t afforded that opportunity. 

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