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Death and Dying-Lament for a Son

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Introduction
The occurrence of death marks the end of the life process for all living beings. It is a devastating event that is all too familiar to those in the healthcare field. For the loved ones that are left behind, grief and mourning are universal emotions that are experienced when coping with a loss of such magnitude (Axelrod, 2014). The writer will address the five stages of grief as experienced throughout Lament for a son, written by Nicholas Wolterstoff, who lost his twenty-five year old son in a mountain climbing accident.
The Five Stages of Death Life and death are two aspects of the same reality (Corr & Corr, 2012). Bereavement is the period of mourning and grief that occurs after the death of a loved one. How one expresses their grief is unique to each individual. According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969), there are five stages of grief as described in her book On Death and Dying. The first stage is denial, which is the response experienced when an individual first learns of the death of their loved one. The second stage is anger, which includes one becoming angry at God and asking Him why did this happen to their loved one. The third stage is bargaining, which can range from the survivor thinking if things went differently, the individual would still be alive to bargaining with God, that if He allowed their dying loved one to live, they would change their ways. The fourth stage is depression, due to despair, the survivor may desire giving up on life because their loved one is gone, now perceiving life as bleak and pointless. The fifth stage of grief is acceptance, in which the individual comes to terms with the loss and their transition to living without their loved one. The five stages of grief does not necessarily happen in the order in which they were written, and some individuals may not experience all five stages (Friedman, 2012).
The Five Stages of Grief as Expressed in Lament for a son In lament for a son, Wolterstoff expresses his stages of grief in light of losing his son. When he initially received the news of his son Eric’s death, his initial response was one of shock and denial, which were for the first three seconds, feeling the peace of resignation, his arms extended, carrying his dead son, and offering him to someone, then experiencing the pain, which he described as cold and burning (Wolterstoff, 1987). He then experienced the stage of anger by being angry because he could not understand how other people could be unaffected by the death of his son in their daily life. He also could not understand how God could just stand by and watch his son die without intervening. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet, yet trouble came (Job 3:26, King James Version). His bargaining stage included thoughts such as his wish to turn back the clock to the day of his son’s death in order for Eric to do things differently, therefore avoiding death. He expressed the stage of depression by the fact that he no longer experienced the joy of living nor felt that he belonged in the world. What helped Wolstoff accept his son’s death was when he realized that God Himself suffered the death of His Son Jesus Christ, who was soon resurrected. Due to them being Christians, he knew that he would see Eric again in the resurrection and that they will be together again for eternity, which brought him comfort and joy. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely (Revelation 21:6). We have many resources in our Christian heritage to bring comfort and healing to those who are suffering (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The meaning of death in the light of the Christian narrative is that joy comes from suffering in the walk of life and natural death, but eternal life is guaranteed in the resurrection.
Conclusion
Although he suffered insurmountable grief, Wolstoff ultimately accepted his son’s death and found joy through his faith in God. The death of Christ seemed to have come to him as an epiphany, revealing to him that God not only experienced the loss of a child, but suffers along with us during our darkest of times. He then realized that through his hope of the resurrection, his relationship with his son would not end after all.

References
Axelrod, J. (2014). The 5 Stages of Loss and Grief. Psych Central. Retrieved from: http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/000617. Wolterstoff, N. (1987). Lament for a son. Retrieved from: http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/eerdmans-publishing/1987/lament-for-a- son_ebook_1e.php.
Corr, C., & Corr, C., & Corr, D. (2012). Death & dying, life & living. Cengage Learning.
Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying.
Friedman, R. (2012). Stages of grief: The myth-the recovery. Retrieved from: https://www.grieverecoverymethod.com/blog/2012/01/stages-grief-myth-recovery. Shelly, J., & Miller, A. (2006). Called to care: A Christian worldview of nursing.

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