Sentinel Watch December 31, 2012 Issue

Addressing tragedies and 'sudden endings'

Kim C. Korinek—Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota

Photo credit: Gabe Korinek

We’ve all felt the shock that comes from an abrupt ending. It can be personal—like a divorce, a layoff, or the death of a loved one. Sometimes it can be larger—like a natural disaster or when lives are senselessly cut short in a tragedy, such as a shooting. Each person deals with these kinds of events differently, and there’s no formula to working through them. Here are a few things I have found helpful in responding prayerfully to “sudden endings” of any kind.

Healing the shock

When an abrupt change happens—especially if there is a loss of life involved—there is often an individual or community feeling of betrayal, anger, and distrust. But even in the midst of a storm of emotion, you can take steps toward healing. A good place to start in prayer is by quietly holding to the fact that good is not helpless. Even when our world seems to have been turned upside down, we can use our active faculty of reason, which comes from God. We can stand on the fact that we express the full range of spiritual qualities that come from God. We can be calm and confident of good, knowing that we are able to overcome what may seem to be an abrupt or unjust end.