Hi Linda,

Thanks for writing; I'm really sorry about your daughter's traumatic loss, the injuries she sustained in that horrible accident, and your losses as well.

 

Obviously, the auto accident sounded so bad, that I'm sure you're thanking God this day that you still have your daughter. These accidents happen every night on highways throughout our country, but there's no way to prepare for when we get the call.

 

You show such a wonderful love for your daughter by coming to a group such as this and trying to find support for her. There has already been some great wisdom shared concerning grief; it's going to take time and patience to walk with your daughter through this valley of darkness. From the difficulty of guilt ("why did I live and they didn't?") to the loss of a future (I don't know how serious your daughter was in her relationship with her boyfriend) to the enormity of grief because of the death itself, she is going to need time, space, and open acceptance as these deep inner wounds try to heal.

 

Our support and encouragement, here, is first in prayer. We pray for each other at this place. Knowing how challenging life is without situations like you all have been thrust into is hard enough, but then this? It brings to mind John 11:35--the shortest verse in the Bible. "Jesus wept."

 

Secondly, our support is to be here and listen with the compassionate heart God has given us. It's so important to be able to have a place where we can share true feelings: hurt, disappointment, anger, rage, despondency, depression, and just how lost a situation like this can make a person feel, to also being a place where we can start making the slow trek back to functional life.

 

Linda, this is your loss too. Your daughter was hurt, and you had to have some kind of relationship with this boyfriend and friend of your daughters.

 

If you wouldn't mind, can you please tell us when this all happened, maybe a bit about the two that died and how close your daughter was to these two (and how well you knew them also)?

 

I will say we are a faith-based grief group so nearly everyone that shares here does so from that perspective. What that means is that we talk about God's love, how prayer has helped us through, and how praise and truly loving and forgiving one another is so important in making it through situations like this--healthy.

 

We're so glad you came here, and deeply sorry about this tragic accident.

 

Gracious God, we are so saddened to hear what has happened in Linda's family, this horrible accident, the death of two precious people, and the injury of her daughter. Lord God, I pray your love and peace would bring comfort to that home where the wounds are so deep at this time. May your healing presence be with each of them as they try to make some sense of this horrible occurrence. Please be with the families of the two that died and bring comfort to their wounded hearts, and help Linda's daughter in her physical and emotional recovery.

 

Lord, situations like this don't catch you off guard, but they sure do catch us that way. Make your presence evident during this difficult time. Be with all the families, in your powerful name, Jesus, we ask, Amen.

 

Linda, feel free to write anytime.

 

John

Linda <mljmbaaa@...> wrote: