Tuesday, April 15, 2014

God Free Grief

Since losing my son, it's come to my attention that nearly all Grief support groups, books, and even cards/gifts/etc. seem to be religious based. Trite religious niceties are also extremely popular at times of Grief. From the very innocent "I'm praying for you." to the more common, and in my case very much unappreciated, "God has a reason." responses, grievers are bombarded by religion. But what if you aren't religious? What if the idea of a God gives you no comfort? Then what?
I have no issues with religion. Whatever gives you peace of mind is fine by me. But in my case, religion does not do that for me. I don't consider myself an Atheist. I'm just not any religion either. I find no solace in the idea that God has some secret plan for me that required my innocent child to be taken. In fact, I'd feel pretty pissed off if I did believe.
The idea of Heaven, while it holds some appeal, is not that great to me either. For starters, depending on who you ask, most of us are not getting in. So that only makes me more upset, wondering if my son did, or if I will ever join him there. And where IS there? All I know is, it's too damn far away.
My belief is this:
Humans are made of energy. We know this. It is fact. We also know that energy cannot be destroyed. We've tried. It can be changed, but not destroyed. I believe that when a person dies, their energy changes. It is no longer contained in their bodies, but is instead distributed into the world. Their spirit/soul/energy never leaves, but remains with us always. This explains why we often feel them, hear them, smell them, and maybe even see them at times. THIS gives me comfort. The knowledge that my child is not in some far distant land, but instead is right beside me... THAT eases my heart and mind more than any Biblical passage, or Faith ever could.
Grief is an emotion. It isn't an illness that can be cured with a injection of religion. For those that reach for God in times of hardship and struggle, and feel eased... that's wonderful. But it is not a surefire fix for everyone. And shouldn't there be support for everyone during such difficult and painful times?

I've found many online support venues, and they all want to point me in the direction of religion. They say things like "We all question our Faith at times." as though I'm simply in a disagreement with God.
I don't feel heard, or supported. I feel judged, and isolated. I refuse to pretend to be something or someone I'm not, just to try and be understood and comforted. So I carry on, as I have for the last 20 months, with my God free Grief. Maybe someday others like myself will come forward, and we can help each other. Maybe someday Grief and God will not always be tied to one another. And if anyone knows of any articles, books, groups, etc. that might be helpful to me, I'd appreciate it.


 

2 comments:

  1. Thank you! I've been very mad at God since my 21-year-old daughter had a seizure and drowned in the shower. The thought that this is part of some grand master plan and that she's in a "better place" does not comfort me in the least. It will be one year on Friday - if you find anything, please share.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry for you. Sending you lots of strength and hugs. We are approaching the 2nd year mark this summer, and I'd be lying if I said it got any easier. And I wish I had more to offer you, but the best I've found so far has been a group called Grief Beyond Belief. They have a facebook page, and I believe a website. They share things from others like ourselves, and have links to books and such as well. It's not much, but I hope it can be of some kind of benefit to you. And if you would like to vent, talk, etc, please feel free to contact me. Berryfavoritethings@gmail.com

      Delete