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.
(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 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.
