Actor Andrew Garfield shared his beautiful and heartbreaking view of grief and loss.

Unfortunately, life is not all rainbows, roses, happiness and joy. At one time or another, likely on multiple occasions, we’ll all experience dark valleys and life’s storms. Grief, pain, loss and heartache are real, and they all hurt.

Sadly, these occurrences can become so intense and painful that they may feel like they will never end, that the hurt will never cease. Whenever one thinks about sadness, grief, sorrow and all the other emotions that typically come when we lose someone, it’s not usually thought of as a happy, joyous time.

But Andrew, in a conversation with Elmo, shares how and why he looks at the sadness he feels about losing his mother as a gift.

“You know that sadness, it’s kind of a gift,” he said. “It’s kind of a lovely thing to feel in a way because it means you really loved somebody when you miss them. And when I miss somebody, I remember, when I miss my mom, I remember all of the cuddles I used to get from her, all of the hugs I used to get from her.”

He adds how experiencing this sadness and thinking about these memories of his mother helps him feel even closer to her.

“And it makes me feel closer to her when I miss her, in a strange way,” he said. “So, I’m happy to have all the memories of my mom and the joy she brought me and the joy she brought my brother and my dad.”

Near the end of the clip, Andrew lets the popular puppet from Sesame Street in on a secret. Elmo was always his mother’s favorite on the beloved children’s program.

Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”