How does a person cope with shock and numbness?
- Weep your tears. Suppressed, grief builds a dam; spilled, grief flows as a cleansing stream.
- Face reality. When in grief you are tempted to see only your own side of the situation; the reality is that you need to see God's side as well.
- Admit to exhaustion. Grief is an intense emotional suffering. Like physical suffering, it is exhausting. Allow yourself adequate time for rest and sleep.
- Deal with guilt feelings. "If only I had..." How often we say that in time of tragedy, so you must take time to analyze the situation and acknowledge that you are not at fault.
- Deal with anger. "Who do I sue?" That seems to be the instantaneous reaction to any trauma. As you absolve yourself of blame, acknowledge that there is not necessarily some other person to blame, either.
- Work your way through the pain of loss. God deals with the pain of loss through the Scriptures. Read the Psalms.
- Seek the fellowship of the people of God. Seclusion deepens pain.
- Don't ask why. Don't put a question mark where God has put a period.
From Through Tears to Triumph: God's Gracious Help Through Grief and Sorrow by John Wallace Stephenson. Copyright (c) 1996 by Regular Baptist Press. Used by permission of Regular Baptist Press, Schaumburg, Ill., 1-800-727-4440.
John Wallace Stephenson has been a missionary to South Africa where he planted many churches and served as their pastor. A Canadian, he is a graduate of three Canadian institutions of higher learning. He wrote this book after an automobile accident took the lives of his wife and daughter.
