I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a child suddenly, in some sort of tragic accident. Tonight at church I sat at a table with a couple who lost a child many, many years ago to a lightning strike. Earlier this week, I visited with a co-worker who lost a child just a few months ago in a drowning incident. No opportunity to say good-bye, no chance to tie up loose ends, no last words of love. Just an incredible, earth-shattering shock when one you love so much is suddenly gone from your life. I must say that I am grateful that God did not call me to walk that road.
It seems to me that losing a child to cancer must be a very different experience. Rather than one enormous earthquake, cancer consists of a series of tremors of different intensities. In our case, there was the initial shock of the brain tumor, the shock of the cancer diagnosis, the shock of hearing the devastating list of treatment side effects, the shock of seeing our child wearing a radiation mask and bolted to a table, the shock of the cancer's return, the shock of seeing our child bald, the shock of watching chemo drugs drip into our child's veins, the shock of each worsening MRI, the shock of hearing the doctor say there is nothing else they can do medically, the shock of entering hospice care, and the final shock of our child's death. Even though you reach a point where death is expected without a miraculous intervention from God, there is still a period of shock.
You know the feeling you have when you've been punched in the stomach? That is the feeling I had the entire time Hannah was sick. Our belief that God was in complete control of the situation, and our knowledge that He truly is good all the time sustained us and gave us an unexplainable, deep-down peace, but to be fully honest, I have to acknowledge that my feelings did not always line up with my beliefs. And I think that's okay...God created us with feelings and emotions and I believe He understands that human part of us, because He was human, too.
"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps." I Peter 2:21
2 comments:
Very well said. I am also glad that we got to spend the whole 11 hours with our son, and we got to tell him goodbye. Even tho we thought he was doing so good, but all of sudden, his little heart stopped, we got to say goodbye, and so many people don't. You can read our story at www.babysethryan.blogspot.com.
PJ
The SS Class the I teach is using a book right now by Sheila Walsh, "Get Off Your Knees and Pray," and the 2nd chapter is about Job and how he was already a good and faithful man before he lost everything, but through his basically gut-wrenching times of crying out to God he came out on the other side an even better, more faithful man. We've talked about in class, how God created us with the human capacity to question and beg God for answers while at the same time having the faith that He holds us securely in His hands.
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