Gain Perspective? Why? by Yvonne Ortega

Gain perspective? Why would a bereaved person consider that? What good would it do to gain perspective?

The Compassionate Friends to Gain Perspective

After the loss of my only child, I felt alone. I didn’t think anyone could understand me or my pain until I went to a peer-facilitated grief support group, The Compassionate Friends (www.compassionatefriends.org). The people gathered there had lost a child. Some had lost their only child, as I had. I wasn’t alone, and they did understand me.

I gained perspective as mothers, fathers, grandparents, and siblings talked about losing their loved one. They had an empty room in their home too. Their heart ached for their late loved one, and they also cried.

The Example of Dennis L. Apple to Gain Perspective

Dennis L. Apple unexpectedly lost his eighteen-year-old son in 1991 from complications due to mononucleosis. Dennis gained perspective and later served as president of The Compassionate Friends. He serves as a staff pastor at a church where he counsels couples and individuals, who’ve lost a loved one. He helps them gain perspective that they aren’t alone, and God will comfort them.

The Opioid Crisis to Gain Perspective

A woman in Rockland, Massachusetts lost three sons to opioid overdoses in three years. The last one died in 2017. She’s not alone. Thousands of parents have lost children to opioid overdoses. On October 26, 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. That mother in Rockland along with others hopes that action will provide the funds for treatment and prevent other parents from suffering the losses she has.

Biblical Stories to Gain Perspective

Adam and Eve

Many more examples form part of the history of the United States and other countries. However, the Bible also abounds with loss. Loss has been around for thousands of years. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they lost their home in the garden of Eden. God must have grieved that his children rebelled and lost the right to live in the garden. Later, Adam and Eve’s son Cain killed his brother Abel. Those parents probably mourned the loss of their son.

Elimelek and Naomi

When a famine occurred in Israel, Elimelek took his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Killion to Moab. Elimelek died in Moab. Naomi’s two sons married Moabite women, and they remained in Moab. After they had lived there about ten years, both sons died (Ruth 1).

Naomi grieved the loss of her husband and two sons. The famine had ended, and Naomi decided to return to Judah.

She urged her two daughters-in-law to stay in Moab. She said, “I am too old to have another husband . . . Even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons—would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them?”

After Naomi returned with one daughter-in-law, she told the women of Judah to call her “Mara,” which means bitter. From her perspective, she left Judah with a husband and two sons and returned “empty.” Everything looked hopeless. Read the end of the story to find out what happened.

Do you look at your situation as hopeless? Maybe you feel alone. Perhaps you think people can’t understand you.

Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Prayer: God, I feel alone, hopeless, and misunderstood. Help me gain perspective that I’m not alone or hopeless. Lead me to others who have suffered loss and understand. Amen.

What will you do this week to gain perspective on your circumstances?

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega IV.XXX.MMXVIII