Meaningful Sympathy Cards
A Tallahassee, FL funeral home can give you guidance on how to create sympathy cards that are meaningful and give a grieving family the comfort and encouragement they need. Sympathy cards are designed to make those who have lost a loved one feel comforted and supported by other people.
However, your first task is to find the right kind of sympathy card so that you can write a meaningful message to bereaved family members. When you look online or go to a card store, you will find a lot of words already written on them.
You may intuitively feel slightly put off by these kinds of sympathy cards because they don’t express what you feel in your heart. There’s a good reason for that.
The greeting card industry, like most other writing industries in the 21st century, pays freelance or contract writers to write the content in these kinds of sympathy cards. As a result, the messages can feel hollow and like they lack the warmth and sympathy that you want to convey to grieving family members.
It is best to avoid buying this type of sympathy cards and simply signing your name and sending it to the family that has lost a loved one.
If you’re unsure of whether you should send a sympathy card like this because you don’t know quite how to express your own feelings, think about how you would feel if you’d lost a loved one and you received one of these cards that someone close to you just signed and mailed to you.
To the bereaved family, receiving a card like this can make them feel as if the sender didn’t care enough to write anything themselves, sent the card out of duty and not care and concern, or that the sender was simply too busy to be bothered with more than a signature.
While all of this may be untrue, that may be how the grieving family perceives it. Therefore, you should select a very simple sympathy card that is blank inside where you can write a note to the inside. Your note doesn’t have to lengthy, but it needs to be heartfelt.
Two of the best ways to write meaningful sympathy cards is to simply express your condolences on the family’s loss or to share a fond memory of their loved one.
Clichés should be avoided at all costs. Don’t write that you know how the family feels or that the death of their loved one is a blessing or for the best.
While you may imagine how the family feels, but you don’t actually know how they feel. Therefore, use phrases like, “I can imagine…” instead. Calling a loved one’s death a blessing or saying that it is for the best doesn’t feel that way to a family who is grieving the loss. This can be unintentionally hurtful.
If you’re sending a sympathy card, but you know only one member of the deceased’s family, address the card to that person. Write to the person you know, but make sure you extend your thoughts to the rest of their family.
Make your sympathy card meaningful by making the family – or person you know – aware of your concern and that you are available to visit, to listen, or to help them.
Finally, be sure your handwriting is legible. If your cursive writing is difficult to read, then print your note. In addition, include your full name, because a lot of Steve’s, Mary’s, Mark’s, and Ann’s may be sending sympathy cards. You can also, optionally, include your cell number and an email address if the family wants to contact you later.
For help from a Tallahassee, FL funeral home with creating a meaningful sympathy card, just ask our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lifesong Funerals & Cremations.
