Coping with Tragedy and Finding Hope After Loss

What occurred in Newtown Connecticut should never have happened, but it did. How can we help others who are coping with such tragedies?  How can those who suffered so much loss be able to pick up and move on with their lives?

There’s no easy answer to these questions. Their loss is overwhelming and the shock is wearing thin. Eventually the soul-wrenching grief will absorb into their hearts, forever. When we suffer any type of loss, especially tragic loss, we become walking wounded. Life moves fast before our eyes and we don’t see any of it. We’re absorbed by our whirlwind of grief and it becomes a part of us.

For the families that suffered in this tremendous loss, their lives, changed forever.  Weeks will pass, months will fly by, and suddenly they’re into another year of their loss. When we grieve, time moves on and we look for something to hold on to so we don’t lose ourselves in the intense pain that comes with each passing day.

What happened in that small town, shook many of us to our roots. It struck a chord within our hearts. The only way to pass this way is by finding hope. We look to support in our family and friends. We open up about our loss with others who are experiencing the same thing.

This is not the time to find healing, but to grieve. Healing will come, but it will take time. Grief will remain. It buries itself into our soul. Grief takes up residence in our life and it becomes who we are but there is hope. We can hold on to God’s word.

Our hope is in heaven. Our hope is a loving God who is always present in our most trying times. Our hope is found is Jesus.

I know about loss. I have felt that gut-wrenching pain of grief. My heart hurt when I heard the news. After an hour of watching, I had to stop. I didn’t watch or read any more reports on the school shooting for the next several days. Like others, I was angry and saddened, but I refused to hear it because I couldn’t absorb it. My anger fueled and like a rising volcano, I was shaken to the core.  This didn’t happen to me personally but I felt it was personal. How easy we can hate, but oh, how easy we can love. Our minds are a powerful thing.

I chose love.

I chose to look to God in heaven for answers and prayer. We’re all broken in tragedy. Disheartened, we can set it right by looking to hope with a love that makes us whole.

“For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.”  Psalm 30:5

Related articles

• Coping With Grief: How to Handle Your Emotions (everydayhealth.com)
• Help for Those Coping with Grief (fox4kc.com)