Have you experienced a major tragedy in your life? How did you respond?

Question

Question from my sunday school lesson.

The title of my lesson is "Losses in Life and Love"

Answer 1

Yes my friend's daughter was diagnosed with cancer at age 24 the week after her bridal shower. She was already stage 4. I had known her as a baby, changed her diapers as a baby. I responded by just Being there for her family and her fiance'. She NEVER gaveup hope. It was 5 years ago and I still remember sitting with her till one of her parents would get home from work. It not only was a sad experience but a very humbling one. As the disease progressed she only wanted certain people near and I was honored to be one of them.
The evening before she died she kept saying "I'm coming. I'm coming. I know who she saw waiting for her. In the early hours of the next morning she died in her fiance's arms. 4 1/2 mos. after diagnosis and 1 month2 months after the wedding should have been. My kids and her were friends for most of their lives. BEING available to her and her family was whAT I was called to do.

Answer 2

I have suffered losses in my life, but God saw me through. True, my wife stood by my side, but she was suffering too. It was God who comforted the two of us.

I have learned that whatever the tragedy that happens, we can overcome the pain when we turn to God.

I don't bother God with dumb questions like "Why?" I don't have to know why, and I probably wouldn't really understand what God's plans are and how all this fits in. I do know, however, that God does not waste anything, even a tragedy. Some of the most traumatic times in my life have been used by God for His own purposes. Sometimes only after years have passed do I see the results.

My divorce, for example. I was in a marriage that was bad from the start, but I was of the mindset that you only marry once, and it is until death. One day, after 17 years of marriage, my wife just walked out on me and our two teen aged kids. I was crushed and devastated. Little by little, I lost everything I had except my car and a few clothes. I had cancer and thought I was going to die. I sent my kids away to live with their Grandmother, and prepared for my last breaths.

I did cry out to God. And I wasn't particularly nice about it. Right soon things changed. I was cured of the Cancer. I got an apartment. My job opened back up. I regained a relationship with my kids. A few years later, I met a wonderful woman who eventually became my wife. I have my own house, and a wonderful church family. God is using me for His purposes, and I am having a great time in this capacity.

Prayer works, if you are honest about it. No, you don't "cuss out" God, but express what you really feel. Ask what you really want to ask. Give your troubles to God, and see what He is going to do. Be patient, but not lazy. Try to let your heart lead you because that's where God talks to you.

Answer 3

In Nov. 1997, our son committed suicide. We were totally devastated. But God
carried us through. Yes, we did a lot of crying, but it was so healing. We knew that we were not alone. Yes, even after all this time, we still miss him. He would have been 42 this year. Our son, unbeknown to us, was Schizophrenic. He did not live with us and it wasn't until after he died, that we realized that it was under his terms, that we saw him. God is so amazing. He prepared us a month ahead. I borrowed a book from the church library by Barbara Johnson, who told of the death of 2 sons and 1 who went into the homosexual lifestyle. I read it to my husband and we wept all the way through. I kept asking, how does a parent cope?? We soon found out. 2 days after my husband took the book back, we found out that we too, were going to have to cope. We have
friends who lost their daughter to leukemia and out of that was born The
Coping Centre which is Christ centered. We were able to talk to her cousin
who is a coroner. We gave him all the papers, and asked if our son would
have known what he was doing and he assured us that he wouldn't have. I
must tell you how he was found. There was a man on his bike and stopped
to blow his nose. He never did this before, but threw the kleenex over the side
to see where it would go. It landed next to our son's body. He ran into the street and the first person had a cell phone and they called the police. God
was totally in control. He still is and I thank Him for that.

Answer 4

I was dying (bleeding and dehydrating inside my body) at a young age and I didn't give up. My family and Priest figured I was going to die because I was just skin and bone for 7 weeks.
I prayed for the pain and fear I was going through. I said Lord; Forgive me for my sins. Let me die if you wish. Give me the strength to pass through this life to the next and please take care of my family. Within a day I was out of bed. Within a week I was on my way to being cured. Within a week I went to see the doctor. The doctors were AMAZED and called all of the staff in to see that they were all wrong about their prognosis. Do I trust in the Lord to this day? What do you think? I try to guide my actions with the help of the Holy Spirit and my life and Faith are inspiring to others. So I lost my old complacent life and found a new life with the love of Jesus.

Answer 5

life is a constant suffer because our attachment and believe that we have plenty of time and that all stays the same - which is not true - its funny since we suffer to get what we wish for and then we suffer from the fear to lose it or from losing it - the best way to handle it is to realize nothing stays forever cherish the fact we could have had it and the knowledge that we other things will probably come to us in the future but remember - that too shall pass. I wish you will not know more sorrow. If its lost love you need to resolve you are welcome to www.kasamba.com/Thinker Bell - maybe a new love will be showing in your future.

Answer 6

I actually experienced many in my life time.

I guess the worse was the loss of my first child. He was born early on July 5, 1985 he had tubes coming out of what seemed like every inch of his body. He was sedated the entire time he was alive. I never even got to hear him cry. He had air bubbles that escaped his lungs and surrounded his heart. On June 11th, My family convinced me to leave the hospital and get some rest. I will regret that for the rest of my life. Any how as I was leaving I looked back at my little guy, he raised his little hand ever so slightly as if he was waiving good bye to me. when I got to the hospital the next morning, My little guy had just passed away. I had a lot of guilt for leaving him, anger at my family for talking me into leaving and well I was pretty mad at God. I was a good Christian I prayed and I beleived and I forgave those who had hurt me.
I prayed a lot. I cried a lot, I prayed more. I yelled at God,
But I never waivered in my belief in him or in my faith.

I became pregnant again in 1986, with my second child. He was born strong and healthy a wonderfull beautiful baby. when he was 15 months old he contracted menengites.
He was given very little chance to live, much less be any thing close to normal.

If there was ever a time in my life that my faith in God was Rocked it was then. I watched him scream in pain for hours before they got him to surgery to put in a temporary shunt to reduce the amount of fluid building in his brain.

I am imbarressed to say that I cursed God at that moment I really didn't even want to hear the name of God. I would have to say that it was about a month later, when my son was still in the hospital, and there hadn't really been much change. My son had pulled out the temporary shunt, and fluid was building up in his brain again. The Doctors wanted to see how long he could go with out one to see if it would be worth it to put another one in or if they should just put in a permenent one. I think that was the worst day and the best day in my life. The worst due to the fact that he sat in pain for eight hours. every hour worse than the last. by the time they took him to do the surgery he was being given large dosses of morphine and it did not even touch his pain. I tried to comfort him but I could not. I honestly don't remember much after that I think tha I really just kind of lost it. The only thing that I remember is being in the hospital chappel, on my knees begging God to forgive me and to help my baby. he was in the hospital for a total of three months. I prayed for him every day, And their was a song that I had heard some where Called Little David I claimed that for my son I saw him as David and his sickness as the giant.
To make a long story short he lived, and he has no noticable problems. He was never quite the same little guy he was, but who knows maybe he is better.

Answer 7

Wow, that is def a loaded question, I am surprised you do not have more answers...I have had to deal with the unfortunate death of 13 of my loved ones in the last 3 years..It is harder, since I am in my mid thirties now for many of my family is older and it is their time but it is not always easy. I am learning that it becomes more tolerable with time, but I will NEVER forget them! The most tragic was my cousin. She was tragically shot in the head by her estranged and angry ex boyfriend when she and he were no longer together. He basically did not want her to take her things from the apt they shared and was very crazy. She ran from him, he shot her in the head, she was still alive....Seeing this, he put her body in a rug, rolled her up in it and kept her locked in a trunk, later to show a person whom he knew that he got rid of a "problem"..The friend did not know it was she in the trunk. The friend did call the police..The ex boyfriend poured gas on her and lit her aflame....Later, a father and son found my cousin's charred remains behind her house. The only identification was a toe ring she wore. They way I am dealing with this tragedy is I took a beautiful picture I have of her, added a poem my other cousin wrote and dedicated it to her. I also "talked" with my cousin whom passed, after her ex was sentenced to life in prison with NO way of parole and said, you are free now, Dara....I cried and let her go...I think of her still but know in my heart she is happy and healthy where she is now in her Heaven!!

Answer 8

Well on Tuesday a former classmate and childhood playing buddy was tragically killed in a Robbery attempt. When i heard of it i dropped to my knees in disbelief that a young achieving male's life had come to an abrupt end. As i pondered this i cried out to the Lord, first of all that my heart would stay clear of any ill will, and also that he would provide me direction on this situation. Also, since he allowed it to happen, my prayers concluded with asking the Council of his mind for making sure my own life is prepared for what's to come.

Answer 9

Three of the people closest to me have died, and I helped care for two of them throughout their last illnesses. I managed well through both crises, but I think the toxic chemical effects of the stress are still with me. I developed a chronic illness after the second of these deaths. One of these people died in old age, so one wouldn't call her death a tragedy, but the other died at forty-four, cheated of the peak of professional success, and I do think of his death as a tragedy. Now that these people have gone, I feel much less attached to life myself.

Answer 10

yes. my father was a drunk and left my mother in the south with 8 children. my mother died when i was 12. i was molested when i was 8 by my sister's husband. my mother had a total of 13 children, 4 of them all died before they reached fourty, one being my twin sister, i have lost a total of 7 siblings altogether. one of them was killed by a stab wound, 3 of them died of cancer, 2 died of alcoholism: the first one died in 1980 follow by 3 more, 1 in 1990,1991,1992, the fifth to died in 2003, folowed by 2 in 2006(1 in feb.of 06 and the last one indec. of 06) at the present i'am living with chronic and sometimes very acute pain. i awake in pain, i go bed in pain and i have pain thru out the day, and this have been going on since i was 15. i have 2 daughters, my first daughter father died of an overdose before she turned 1 year and my second daughter father is a crack addict and there's more, but i just wanted you to decide which one or if any all the above was a major tragedy. i have respond by lots of crying, drinking, saddness and i have been able to sustain because of The True and Living God.