Because of the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, I thought I’d quote from one of my favorite books on suffering. It’s from the book,A Grace Disguised, by Jerry Sittser.
Sittser lost his mother, his daughter and his daughter in a car accident. His book goes deep and answers the question: How does the soul grow through loss? He talks about how we can’t compare losses. We all suffer loss. The list is endless.
terminal illness
disability
divorce
rape
emotional abuse
physical or sexual abuse
chronic unemployment
crushing disappointment
mental illness
death of a child
financial ruin
add your own
“My own catastrophic loss thus taught me the incredible power of choice–to enter the darkness and to feel sorrow, as I did after the accident, even as I continued to work and to care for people, especially my children. I want to gain as much from the loss without neglecting ordinary responsibilities. I wanted to integrate my pain into my life in order to ease some of its sting. I wanted to learn wisdom and to grow in character. I had had enough of destruction, and I did not want to respond to the tragedy in a way that would exacerbate the evil that already experienced. I know that running from the darkness would only lead to greater darkness later on. I also knew that my soul had the capacity to grow–to absorb evil and good, to die and live again, to suffer abandonment and find God. In choosing to face the night, I took my first step toward the sunshine.”
One of my favorite book, too, Tiffany. Thanks for the quote. It’s a great one.
P.S. Can you BELIEVE we had a snow day today???