Mrs. M.
Man Feed Guest Writer
- Nov 2, 2015
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Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Jesse Lewis, wipes tears as he testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee February 27, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images
A picture is worth a thousand words and this one is heart breaking. A father grieving over the loss of his child. What could be more painful than the loss of your own child? I cannot imagine it yet many have experienced such a tragedy in their lives and have gone on to comfort others who have had to endure the loss of their own children.
The story of Karina Vetrano deeply touched my heart because I could see the heartache of both parents and the different coping mechanisms each parent used to deal with that pain. No two people grieve the same way. Their daughter was murdered six months ago but the pain is not six months old. The pain is as if it happened yesterday. You can hear it in their voices and see it on their faces. They are enduring the death of a child. Their only child.
It is natural for people to pour out their love and sympathy upon that neighbor or loved one who has lost a child but what happens six months later? A year later?
It is important to understand the needs of bereaved parents so that the people who know and love them can meet them at that need and not blindly assume that time has erased the pain of their loss. It is important for bereaved parents to understand that their greatest comforter, counselor, friend in the midst of their great trial is Jesus Christ.
Jean Burns found that out when she lost her own daughter, Anna, in a tragic accident. While looking through her daughter's bible one day she found that her daughter had underlined the scripture and wrote with her own hand on the bottom of the page, "My times are in YOUR hands!" The unexpected discovery of this underlined, hand written scripture by her daughter before her death brought great comfort to her mother. Her mother decided to share it with an author who wrote about her story entitled,When a Parent loses a child. Here is a picture of her daughter's bible:
Anna’s Bible
The photo of the Bible page above is from Anna’s Bible.
When Traci found Anna’s note “My times are in your hands!” written in her Bible, a wave of comfort flooded over her.
We never know how God is working.
Anna didn’t even know that God was already preparing her to come home.
And she didn’t know the little note she wrote in her Bible would give her family such great peace.
But God knew it all.
Whatever you’re facing today, God knows it all, He cares, and He’s working out His good and kind will for your life.
Our times, our lives, and our future are in His loving hands.
When A Parent Loses A Child, It's Common to Ask "Why?" (by Traci Burns, A Mother Who Knows) - Jean Wilund
Reading the Scriptures is a source of comfort, strength and healing whether we discover a hand written note by our loved ones left behind or not. The greatest message any grieving parent can hear is the message Jesus Christ has for them found within the Holy Bible. God's love for us dwarfs the love offered by those with the best of intentions. For those who have suffered the loss of a child, pray for God's love to comfort them.
Only God can provide the comfort needed when parents are enduring the death of a child.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
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