The following is written by a father who lost his son, but it may as well be written by me or anyone else who has ever lost a child:
You say it's time for me to "move on" in my grief. Perhaps you're right or perhaps you just don't realize what you're asking. So, why don't you try this little exercise and maybe it will help you get a better perspective on what I am going through.
As Ronald J. Knapp says in his book Beyond Endurance, although he can imagine what it’s like to lose a child, he “can draw away from it and the ‘experience’…[and it] becomes a simple exercise of the mind, a large step away from the real world…But persons who have actually lost a child cannot pull themselves free…They must face this grueling, gut-wrenching reality every hour, every minute, every second of every day. There is no place to run, no place to hide (18).” (http://onewomansperspective02.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/book-review-beyond-endurance-when-a-child-dies-by-ronald-j-knapp/)
People can imagine what it’s like to lose a child, but, in the end, they can go home and hug their children. Those of us who have lost a child cannot. Good essay, though!
This is a good exercise.
Yes…I thought it was rather interesting. Imagination is just that – imagination – but if it helps create any measure of understanding, it certainly has some value.
This is SO true, especially the part about other children. I have heard countless times, “at least you have Caleb”. I am thankful beyond words for my son, and he makes me happy, but doesn’t take the feeling of loss away. Nothing takes that away.