Is Your Foundation Firm or Crumbling?

Let’s face it, grief and loss are unavoidable parts of life. Life seems to be an up and down journey of good and bad times, flowing along like a winding river. As a pediatric oncologist, I witnessed these aspects of life daily at work. There was the thrill and joy of a child finishing chemotherapy and ringing the bell at the infusion center to indicate that the treatment had been successfully completed! Immediately, the next patient appointment informed a child and family that treatment had failed, and there was evidence of another relapse.

As I have navigated my own lost dreams and disappointments in life, I often reflect on the families that have lost children to cancer in my career and how they coped. Many couples have divorced or become almost lifeless, just going through the motions because acceptance over the death of their child escaped them. Others are thriving, stronger, and even more cohesive after the death of their beloved child.

I see this pattern in my own life. Sometimes I face loss and heartache with acceptance and end up stronger in the end. Other times the loss has remained painful, like a festering wound, and the grief just doesn’t seem to heal. I wonder what the differences are between the two scenarios and the two types of coping patterns?

It may be different for everyone, but I suspect that foundations are crucial. A firm foundation will withstand the storms of life, while a foundation built on sand will not withstand these severe storms. The loss of a child is about the worst storm one can endure, so the soundness of the foundation becomes apparent quickly. A foundation built upon truth and unshakeable hope are necessary for the bad storms in life.

Scripture describes this beautifully, “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.” Matthew 7:25 (KJV)

These storms often come abruptly without warning. Is your foundation solid enough to withstand the storms that may come in life? We need to be preparing now, making sure our foundation is sure and solid.