Germanwings Co Pilot Andreas Lubitz Crashed Flight 9525 - Suffered From ...

Romans 8:38-39Common English Bible (CEB)

38 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers 39 or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.

The recent intentional downing of the GermanWings aircraft is illustrated of the need to grieve each and every loss in our lives. What we know about this GermanWings co-pilot is the following:

(1)He had been recently diagnosed with a eye condition  which may have made him unfit for continuing his career as a Commercial airline pilot;(2) he had been diagnosed with depression  and at in his possession doctors notes stating that he was unfit to fly;(3) just a day prior to the plane crash his girlfriend broke up with him after they had been living together 7 years;(4) he was facing the prospect of  losing his dream of flying the bigger jets.

loss of a job

diagnosis of a disease that impacts one'quality of life

breakup of a relationship

concern for one's future to live out their dream

Unfortunately for the 150 unsuspecting passengers this co-pilot went into denial of his problems and as a result a 150 lives perish with him in his successful suicidal attempt.

 When I think how people in general handle grief it really doesn't surprise me.  In our modern society we often view grief in some fluffy and unscientific way that can be simply tossed under a rock and forgotten.  We see no need to talk about our problems to a professional.  Doctors would rather over prescribe medications with many overriding side effects than to encourage their patients with caring support.

 Left untreated  grief can cause serious physiological damage to the body. We need to recognize grief and loss, not as some fluffy emotion, but something very real that needs to be processed with  non judgmental caring support.  Recovering from grief  is a skill equally as important as learning to read, write and  performing arithmetic because losses will occur in everyone's life time. Some of the losses that may occur in one's lifetime

picked on in school

getting a low grade on a test

not doing as well as you thought you could have done

losing a parent

losing a sibling
losing a spouse
breaking up with someone

losing a baby

losing a job

getting a diagnosis you never wanted to hear

being unable to continue life's work because of that diagnsis

having unresolved abandonment issues

As you can see grief isn't just the loss of a loved one. Grief  comes in many different forms and when each form occurs they must be resolved by allowing the griever to go through the pain of one's loss.. Each grief must be resolved with the understanding that there is no time table when such grief is resolved.

We  must make it safe for people to admit they are grieving a loss without the fear of being branded a 'crazy' person and shunned from society.  It is only when we give people permission to talk about one's losses,without repercussions, that true healing will come..

The 'what if's play on my mind for this young Germanwings pilot. What if he had sought counsel when:

he had been diagnosed with the eye condition

he saw his reality of losing his love for flying the bigger jets

when his girlfriend broke up with him

he saw a need to talk with someone about the potential loss of his career

he was seen by a caring doctor who recognize his need for loving and caring support.

I would venture to guess the outcome might have been much different. I would also surmise that all 150 people on board that day might have reached their destinations safely.

 The tragedy of this Germanwings flight is also illustrated of the need for the Christian church.  In each of us there is a need for God to fill the empty spaces of our hearts.  As each loss occurs in our life we are assured through the New Testament that God is there and wants to walk with us through each and every loss that occurs in life.

 For those of us who have a personal relationship with our Savior we are  assured that God will one day make all things new again which means that as each loss occurs he will bring us out the other side of our grief much stronger, much more resilient and with a new purpose in  life.

The next time you encounter a loss learn to ride those grief emotions, each and every wave, until there are no more waves to ride. Find a trusted listener who is willing to listen to you process the pain of your loss. Finally, losses will occur in many forms throughout one's lifetime. Learn to recognize them and do not attempt to bury those losses without properly processing the pain of that loss.