×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

Dealing With A Tragedy

It was a humbling sight. This past week, a group of people who had one goal in mind got down on their knees near a local grade school and prayed together. It didn’t matter what faith they were or even if they were churched folks, but they made a collective plea through prayer for a 6-year-old boy named Noah.

The child was the victim of a horrifically sad accident that could have happened to any of us. He was injured by a flying piece of metal from a lawnmower. It caused a fatal head injury and he died. No one meant for it to happen. No one could foresee such an event. No one would wish this on anyone.

Since that tragic moment many people are asking why. They understand how it happened but cannot come to terms as to why it happened to someone so young. Whether it’s a car wreck, a senseless shooting or other unforeseen event that takes a child, it has us questioning our beliefs.

An innocent child has been plucked from his family and friends and it makes people mad. Irrevocable hurt followed by anger — that’s what parents who lose a child will tell you. There is an emptiness that follows such loss and it never leaves. It can be lessened for a time, but like a scar it can reopen and bring about a fresh set of tears at any given moment.

A trip to the store or a song on the radio can trigger memories that come back with a familiar sadness. I guess that’s why God gave us the ability to cry. It washes some of the sadness and gives us the strength to get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes that’s the best a person in grief can manage.

I won’t pretend to know the depth of Noah’s family’s pain. And I am among those who can’t wrap my head around why such things happen to the most innocent of our population. It’s enough to make people turn away and never bend a knee again in prayer.

Every one of us most likely knows someone who has lost a child.

You quickly learn that there are no words to provide comfort. You buy sympathy cards and send flowers or food to the home. You hold a grieving mother in your arms until there are no more tears left. You allow a father to scream and yell and sob his grief to the floor.

It’s all you can do until these tragedies are explained to us at another time.

There is a fine line between anger and despair. Sometimes they go hand in hand. We get so angry that we give up, lose hope, cast away any sense of faith that there is a God listening. And then, if we are lucky enough to have someone to hold onto, to prop us up when we can’t stand on our own — then maybe we can feel something good again. Happiness can be had again — if only in measured amounts.

Please continue to offer your prayers for Noah’s family. They will need them even more as the days go by.

Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today