Comfort for a grieving parent

God sends the thoughts that dispel grief and sorrow.

By Carrie T. Becker

There is perhaps nothing more heartbreaking than the despair parents experience when they have lost a child. In addition to the pain of their loss, the parents naturally grieve over their child's having been deprived of happiness and fulfillment.

A friend called me recently to ask how she could effectively comfort a mother whose baby had died. I was reminded of the struggle I had had with severe anxiety and depression when our small daughter passed away years earlier. During that period, I realized finally that our other child deserved to live in a happy home, free of frequent tears, and that my husband needed my help in dealing with his feelings of sorrow. At this point I decided to take up the study of Christian Science, which I had shunned since my mother's acceptance of it when I was a teen.

One day while reading the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, I came across the statement "Man in Science is neither young nor old" (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 244). Peace and comfort flooded my consciousness, and I knew that God, the all-knowing Mind, is not limited by our measurements of time. He does not recognize stages attributed to mankind such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, teenage years, young adulthood, middle age, or old age. His offspring are ageless.

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