Various Responses to Loss

Different people respond in different ways when facing the same crisis. When it comes to dealing with the loss of a child, a huge number of varied responses can be seen among grieving peole. While some of the responses are healthy ways of dealing with the situation, others could be detrimental to one’s own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of everyone deeply involved in the loss. People’s emotional quotient, their general outlook in life, their religious outlook, and a whole lot of other factors determine the way in which they would respond to the crisis that they are facing in life. Sometimes people with a religious background can be seen turning to atheism or agnosticism. People who have no faith in religion can also sometimes be drawn towards a deep personal faith in God due to their current crisis. Some lose their enthusiasm in life, while others find a fresh purpose for living. Some totally break down never to return from the loss while others draw strength from a hitherto unknown source within their inner selves and go on to succeed in life. Therefore the response to the loss of a child can sometimes reveal the inner qualities of a person in stark relief.

Death is probably one of the most enigmatic phenomenon that is so common and yet so painful to deal with. We see death so many times in our lives and yet every single occurrence brings pain and sorrow with it which takes a very long time to heal. Parents who are trying to cope with the death of their own child often have a number of questions that plague their mind. They wonder is they had done anything wrong which in turn caused the death of their child. People in certain religious circles go through a lot of guilt especially when they believe that their actions had somehow triggered the cause for the loss of their beloved child. Some people have their faith in God shaken up by this crisis. They get angry with God wondering why He let their child die when He had the power to save. Death and suffering in this world are in fact the basic issues which make atheists and agnostics feel that they are right in saying that God does not exist. Still others who have a deep personal faith in God react in exactly the opposite way and get even more intimate in their relationship with their Creator. They deepen their faith in God and become even more unshakable in their commitment to their religious beliefs.

One of the best expositions that reconcile the existence of God and the reality of human pain and suffering comes to mind. We normally believe that God is all powerful and can control any event that takes place on earth. We think that for some strange reason God does not act the way we expect Him to and lets all kinds of bad things happen on the earth. However, the explanation as taken from the Bible states that God gave the authority over the earth to man. God therefore no longer has any authority to intervene directly in human affairs. All the pain and the suffering is the direct result of the deterioration of the earth due to sin, and God is not responsible for the mayhem we have landed ourselves into. Whatever we choose to believe, one day we will have all our questions answered. Maybe until then, we may have to wait patiently.