Heavy heart or heavyhearted- 12:1

When and Where: I often see this expression on many Facebook posts pertaining to something tragic or deeply sad that has occurred. From the context, I clearly understood what the person meant but when I attempted to use the phrase "heavy heart" in response to someone's death, I felt unsure about it. I continued to re-read my sentence that included that phrase but still felt that I sounded awkward and incorrect. 

What it means: Like I believed,  the phrase "heavy heart" means a "sad heart (dictionary.com)." Also, according to thefreedictionary.com, heavyhearted can mean "depressed" if used as an adjective. These words can be spelled either way from what I gathered from dictionary.com and thefreedictionary.com. 

Level of familiarity: Despite knowing what this phrase meant, I had a difficult time using it context. I think , like many others, I have a very hard time expressing condolences during times of sadness. I often feel like I can't find the right words and don't know the appropriate thing to say.  

Reflective Commentary: I admire funeral home directors. The struggle to be comforting and consoling to a family in grief is a hard one for many. For my purposes, I wanted to remember a man who had just recently passed.  Carefully selecting my rhetoric in situations like these are often very hard for me.