Daily Meditation: Parents' Grief

DAILY MEDITATION Parents' Grief August 24 Photo courtesy of SDGimagery.com Many parents have to suffer the death of a child, at birth or at a very young age. There probably is no greater suffering than losing a child, since it so radically interferes with the desire of a father and mother to see their child grow up to be a beautiful, healthy, mature, and loving person. The great danger is that the death of a child will take away the parents' desire to live. It requires an enormous act of faith on the part of parents to truly believe that their children, however brief their lives, were given to them as a gift from God, to deepen and enrich their own lives. Whenever parents can make that leap of faith, their children's short lives can become fruitful far beyond their expectations. For further reflection... If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality... The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - I Corinthians 15: 44b, 46, 53 and Psalm 34: 18 (NIV) Your response... What kind of grief would you find too difficult to bear? Comment on this Daily Meditation. Continue the Inspiration Purchase your copy of Henri Nouwen's book "A Letter of Consolation".   Visit our Bookstore: United States | Canada | United Kingdom Consider our monthly giving program to sustain the ability to extend Henri's legacy and make his work available to those who seek spiritual formation and nourishment. Click here to sign up today. Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo. STAY CONNECTED:

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