Craig Clouston

Understanding Comfort

Comfort … with the comfort we ourselves have received.
2 Corinthians 1:4

Danny was a commercial construction contractor. His firm built low-rise structures in and around the downtown area. He and his wife, Susan, their three children, Ammie, Ben, and Chris, lived in the suburbs.
This morning, Danny was running a bit late, but that was okay because it was Saturday, and he would be the only one at the job-site anyway. He and Susan had stayed up late to watch It’s a Wonderful Life last night, Susan giggling at George and Mary’s whirlwind romance, teasing Danny and saying, “If you treated me the way George treats Mary, we’d never have a bad day.” Susan would remember, with heart-wrenching clarity, her comment in the days to come.
As Danny jumped in his truck, Susan waved good-bye through the side door. Neither of them saw Chris playing behind his father’s truck, and in one horrifying moment, Danny put the truck in reverse and backed out of the garage, running over his five-year-old son, killing him instantly.
In the weeks that followed, they were surrounded by friends and family who tried to comfort them. But no comfort could be found. Danny couldn’t sleep; Susan blamed herself and Danny for the loss of her son.
The blame would shift from themselves to God and back over the next two years. Their faith would ultimately hold them together, and grief counseling would bring a measure of healing. But not before the enemy had his way for awhile.

†

What do we do when tragedy of this magnitude invades our lives? It seems so unfair, and the anger over a life taken long before its time runs deep. “How could a loving God allow something like this to happen?”
We say, “Bad things happen to good people.” And this is true but woefully inadequate for these situations.
The truth is bad things do happen, and sometimes they happen to us instead of somebody else. And we need the understanding comfort only God and those who have lost a child can bring. If you are bearing this grief, reach out. If you have lived through this nightmare, comfort those whose pain is still raw.

Prayer

“My life is Yours, Lord. But today that doesn't help. Show me how to grieve this unspeakable loss. Bring healing to my broken heart. Amen.”