Stages of Grief - Essay Example

RELIGION AND THEOLOGY Lament of a son is a book written by Nicholas Wolterstorff a of philosophical theology atYale Divinity School. Wolterstorff writes the book upon the death of his 25-years-old son in a mountain climbing in accident. He writes on the life and death of Eric and how he was able to overcome his grief through the through his Faith in God. He writes this book so as to help others who find themselves in such situations. In the preface he writes "Though it is intensely personal, I have decided now to publish it in the hope that it will be of help to some of those who find themselves with us in the company of mourners" (Wolterstorff, 1987).

He pours his emotion and tears out of his heart; it was felt as one read through pages, though we also got to see him take one step forward. The author who is also a father went through all the five stages of grief. Most people who have lost their loved one, it is always the beginning of a grieving process, which begins with the denial phase, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (Axelrod, 2015). Question 1Wolterstorff found joy after acceptance the loss of his son, after going all the four other stages of grief he finally accepted the death of his son.

His acceptance was as a result of his strong faith in God. As much as he regrets the things that were unsaid and undone, he considered the death of his son to have made him grow and change. He was agonized by the death of his son; he could not understand how he lost his son after twenty-five years of guiding and encouraging him. He thought he had not done enough or maybe he loved him more than the others. However, at this point he was in a state of bargain, a point where he was wrighling with God.

Through his faith, he considered the glory of God to be revealed to us through our suffering, and we later find hope in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (Wolterstorff, 1987). He was greatly encouraged, and that was a progression of his healing through acceptance.Question 2The book assumes Christian audience. However, as much as everything that is written with God in mind, in some way we see the narrator is wrestling with God asking questions as to why his son had to be the one Dead.

It is through God that Wolterstorff was able to regain his strength. In some instance a bitter friend asks him why he does not reject God. The narrator, however, the sees the glory of God around him and have no reason to stop asking God to continue protecting his family. As a Christian death has a positive meaning, for one to live in Christ and to die in Christ it is a gain. If we have died with him, then we will live with him. In Christianity, it is not about death it is about entering a new life with Christ.

With this in mind, the narrator was sure that he will talk to Eric during Gods reign on earth. For this reason he learned to live in the reality of the death of his son although the wound were hard to heal. The narrator continued to ask God to protect his family even after the death of his son. Question 3Wolterstorff was greatly encouraged, in knowing that Gods glory is reflected in our suffering and finding hope in the life, death sand the resurrection of Jesus. For this reason, he realized that if we mirror the image of God like the Bible says then we will resurrect again.

Therefore, he had the hope of meeting Eric aging in the Kingdom of God. The Bible says that blessed are those who mourn, those who believe in the realm of God. Jesus blesses such people and he gives them promise that one day they will be able to meet with those that left them, and they will be comforted. He believed that God revealed life to us, loved us and wanted to experience the total absurdity of death; then there is hope of resurrection. In conclusion, Death and grief are not an easy experience, especially to sudden death or loss, that can makes the bereaved to encounter additional difficulties and trauma than a death that was expected (Axelrod, 2015).

In Wolterstorff case, the death of his son was sudden and unexpected, and that is why he was very affected. In most cases, those people require additional professional support to overcome the grief. In this case, the narrator found solace by the word of the Bible and him putting his emotions on paper.References Axelrod, J. (2015). The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief. Psych Central.com. Retrieved 13 February 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/000617Wolterstorff, N. (1987). Lament for a son.

Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans.Wright, H. N. (2004). Experiencing grief. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman.