Grief

It has been a month since the last post. That is because I want to be extra careful about how the next idea I want to put forth is presented. I decided to do a bit more research and study before I say what I am going to say next. I am still not ready to say it at this time. I do, however, want to point out that a guiding thought behind all that I have written so far is that it is meant to be a response to the pain in our everyday lives. That includes deep and intense pain that comes with life's most terrible tragedies.

I have friends going through such a tragedy right now. After 8 1/2 years of infertility, these good people just got word that they had successfully conceived. Now, several weeks later, they are grappling with the pain of having lost the pregnancy to miscarriage. I had to ask myself if what I was writing about God on this blog was something I would want these friends to read. I decided it is something I'd want them to read, but, at the same time, that very idea made me see the need for some caution on my part. I always want to be careful with people's pain.

Like roughly handling a limb with broken bone, pain that is mishandled can further harm a person beyond their initial injury. That is the last thing I would want to do to them or anyone else reading what I have written.

Grief, I have learned, is its own entity. It is not a question to be answered or a problem to be solved. It is a very real--almost measurable force within the human personality. I certainly do not want to make it sound as if my claims are meant to assuage anyone's grief. That is not in my power.

What is in my power is the ability to help those who are hurting to talk through the ideas about God that they might hold, especially those that make us unable to connect with Him during times of hurt.

That is my quest, and I hope to continue it in my next post.