Amber Smith, wife of former country singer Granger Smith, joined ChurchLeaders for an interview where she discussed the powerful story of how God met her in her grief after the death of her son, River, at 3 years old. Smith shared insights into how to navigate grief with God and how others, including church leaders, can support people going through unimaginable loss.
“That’s such a weight for them to have to carry,” Smith said in response to the question of how church leaders can best minister to people who are grieving. “They have to shepherd so many. So many.”
“I think…you just do the best that you can,” she said. “You try to comfort them. You try to be there for them. You try to show up. You have the church praying for them. Meet with them one-on-one. Pray with them.”
“Guide them, yes, through Scripture,” she said, but Smith encouraged pastors not to “miss out on that fact of just being present,” instead of being overly focused on sharing truths from God’s Word.
“We know [God’s Word] is true,” said Smith, “but oftentimes, we’re just supposed to weep with those who weep. And so I would say, you know, for church leaders, just to come and sit with them and be present.” Pastors should make sure grieving people know their church leaders are available if those who are suffering ever need prayer or someone to talk to.
“Meal trains are great and all those tangible things are fantastic,” Smith acknowledged. However, it’s crucial that suffering people know they “don’t have to walk through this alone.”
Amber Smith: ‘When My Heart Broke, I Ran to the Lord’
In addition to being a wife and mother, Amber Smith hosts the “Arise with Amber” podcast, is founder of the River Kelly Fund, and is the author of the new book, “The Girl on the Bathroom Floor: Held Together When Everything is Falling Apart.” The book is a raw and compelling account of how Smith navigated grief after the Smiths’ 3-year-old son, River, died in a tragic drowning accident in 2019.
Smith’s husband, Granger, recounted his own experience with that tragedy in the 2023 book “Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength To Move Forward after Loss and Heartache.”
RELATED: Granger Smith Is Leaving the Country Music Industry To Focus on Ministry
“I wrote this book hopefully to be a light to someone else going through their pain,” said Amber Smith. “When we lost our son, I read lots of books on hope and heaven and child loss. I was so encouraged by other people’s stories that helped me through my pain and kind of laid the groundwork to show me how to suffer well.”
“I wanted to be one of those people,” she said. “I wanted our story of heartbreak and what the Lord has done through that…to be hopefully a guide for somebody else who might be going through the same pain.”
