Grief on the Campaign Trail

abcnews ^ | 1/4/2008 | unknown

[billphx]

It's not how the world is meant to work — and it sears, like no other pain.

"I went from thinking there was a benevolent God to blaming God," said Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

[billphx]

Struck home, lost my 24 yr old son last week

[Huck]

Very sorry for your loss.

[Allegra]

I am so sorry. Prayers up for you and family.

[Jo Nuvark]

Bill... Please accept my deepest condolences.

[MamaLucci]

SO sorry for your loss......prayers to you and your family.

[ontap]

My sincere condolences to you!!

[Petronski]

Biden had just been elected to the Senate in 1972 when his 18-month-old daughter, Naomi, and his wife, Neilia, were killed by a tractor-trailer that slammed into their station wagon. His two young sons survived. Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos he now understands how intense grief could lead to suicide.

"I used to think you just had to be stark-raving mad, but in the depths of despair that a lot of people have shared like I have, I can understand how it could be a conscious decision."

I never knew this about Senator Biden. God bless him.

[Prokopton]

Prayers for strength and comfort for you and your family and a glorious homecoming for your son.

[digger48]

Deepest condolences, FRiend

I also didn’t know that about Biden.

[9YearLurker]

Everyone who reads this thread would give you hugs if they could. Prayers to you and your family.

[billphx]

Thanks you all and bless you

[billphx]

And maybe I will learn how to spell :)

[ontap]

Some things transcend politics. I can help but to feel some of his pain for such a loss.I’m with you, God be with him.

[joebuck]

I’m not sure the purpose for this article. I feel kind of like a peeping tom reading it. Some moments are just private and nobody else’s business. Media should respect that.

[roses of sharon]

Oh no! My heart is breaking for you and your son, God Bless you and yours, and may he bring you strength.

[exit82]

My sincere sympathy to you. I have no words that can help, other that we have promised that one day, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

One day, there will no longer be death nor grief.

Until then, I have prayed for the Everlasting Arms to hold you and to guard you.

[Petronski]

Everyone who reads this thread would give you hugs if they could.

Strong, manly hugs from the guys. No weird stuff.

[joebuck]

Bless you and God give you strength to be a rock for your family in this time of grief.

[LadyNavyVet]

I’m so sorry. I’ll be praying for you and your family.

[2111USMC]

Condolences and prayers.

[Neverforget01]

There are no words. I'm deeply sorry for your loss.

Please find comfort in knowing your son's in a better place and a part of him is always with you.

God Bless you and your family.

[TASMANIANRED]

Prayers lifted for you and your family..

[mombonn]

My son is 24 also. I can only begin to understand your pain.

Prayer for you and your family.

[Churchillspirit]

Deepest sympathy for your loss.

God bless you and your family and may your son rest in peace.

[heartwood]

I am so sorry.

[Grammy]

I am so sorry Bill. I know how heart broken you must be.

When I start missing somebody a bunch I just ask Jesus to give them a hug for me.

[tajgirvan]

We are so sorry for your loss. We are here if you ever need to talk. We mean that. May the Lord comfort and heal your broken heart.

[Cindy]

I am so sorry to hear that Bill.

May God comfort you and give you peace that is beyond our understanding.
In Jesus’ Holy name I pray for you.
Amen.

[Grams A]

My heart aches for you and my prayers are with you. I’m still there and it’s been five years since my daughter was killed in auto accident. She left a then eleven-year-old son who now lives with his dad (ex-husband) and there has never been a mention of her name. The hole in your heart does not close, the sadness remains - and not always in the background. There is never an understanding, just an acceptance after time. Let yourself cry, scream and get angry. But most of all remember the wonderful times and how much you enjoyed him while he was on loan to you from God. Name a star after him which you can talk to at night. God knows your pain and grief. He’s an angel now - flying around over you.

[LucyJo]

God bless and comfort you and your family. I’m so sorry for your loss.

We lost ours when he was a baby.

I know you will cherish, and be thankful for the memories you have of the short time he was with you.

[Kitty Mittens]

I'm So Very Sorry for your Loss, and will Pray that our Lord's Comfort and Peace will be with you in a Personal Way. I can't Imagine your Grief, but the God of Heaven is there, and He has Promised to Never Leave you nor Forsake you. Please Cast your Sorrow Upon Him, because He Cares for you.

[Faith]

Crying as I type. O Lord, please comfort billphx’s aching heart and may this precious son be received into Your loving arms. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

[epow]

I am very sorry to hear of your tragic loss. Please accept my sincere condolences and my sense of grief for your loss even though I don't know you and didn't know your son.

I think I probably have a better understanding than some others of the depth of your grief because of my recent experiences concerning my own son. My 41 year-old son who is married with 2 young children is currently undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer, and thanks be unto God is on the verge of winning the battle according to his oncologists. A few months ago the realization that I could actually lose my only son before I die myself was so mind shattering that I couldn't understand the shock at first. Then the peace of God gradually filtered into my heart and mind and I began to remember that we Christians are not promised a bed of roses by God when we give ourselves over to His will and by faith accept the Lordship of His only Son Jesus Christ over our lives and life experiences. His will is always a mystery inside an enigma in cases such as yours, mine, and countless others who trust in the boundless love and infinite power of God the Father, and in the blood atonement for our sin that was offered up on the cross by His only Son. However, there are things that we can count on to be forever true even though we don't understand them when tragedy strikes our lives. Among those things are the promises that He loves us with an everlasting love that extends far beyond our ability to conceive, and that His will for His children is perfect and beneficial to our eternal welfare in every possible respect.

In sorrowful circumstances such as yours at this present time it is no doubt very, very difficult for you to fully apprehend the truth of Paul's divinely inspired promise that all things work together for good to those who love God and have placed their faith in His Son and His resurrection for deliverance from the perfectly just sentence of eternal damnation that we all rightly deserve. But never the less, I have come to believe, and will hopefully someday more fully understand, that He can love us that much and still allow such humanly inexplicable tragedy as you are now experiencing (and which threatens to afflict me and my family) to invade our formerly comfortable lives with unutterable grief and bitter tears.

All that I can offer you from afar is my sorrow for your tragic loss, and my hope and prayer that you and your family can continue to believe in the certainty of God's love for you and for your son that still envelopes you and him even though it may now seem to you that it has been withdrawn for some unknown reason. May God graciously grant you His peace beyond understanding in your hearts and minds, and ungrudging acceptance of His sovereign will for your son instead of the natural man's bitterness and repudiation of His infinite love for us which he proved once and forever on bloody Mount Calvary.

[epow]

It is good to hear from you again tajgirvan. Several times in recent weeks I have thought to write to you to update the situation concerning my son's cancer treatments, but somehow I never got a round tuit (insert snicker at bad pun). I am glad and thankful to God to be able to report that Ken has completed the almost six month course of chemo treatments without incurring any serious complications, and is now awaiting the results of a PET scan to determine if there are any cancer cells still remaining anywhere in his body. I invite you to join me in thanking our gracious God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for his mercy and the grace by which He has granted us relief from the anxiety and fear that at first threatened to overcome our faith in Him and His all encompassing love for us His bought and paid for children in Christ.

The battle with cancer is not yet over, and there is the distinct possibility that the malignant tumor will return to Ken's body at some future time, if indeed it is now gone. However, at the present time we are not allowing that possibility to overshadow our relief in knowing that there is now treatment for cancer that can and often does save the life of the afflicted person. Of course we have always known that only God can guarantee a full recovery from any deadly malady, and that knowledge has been the underlying reason for our hope for a complete and permanent healing for our son. I continue to thank you for your prayers and concern for Ken's life, and for what I believe must be your prayers for my own faith in God's healing power to remain steadfast and sure throughout this ordeal.

I also want to thank from the bottom of my heart all the FR prayer warriors who joined you in prayer for Ken's health crisis to be resolved in a manner consistent with God's will in the matter, and favorable to the eternal welfare of Ken and our entire family. May God grant you and the others similar answers to prayer for both yours and their matters of concern.

BTW, I recently discovered that I can receive what appears to be video of live church services from Calvary Chapel over the internet via a website called wwiTV.com. I happened up on that website just at the time your venerable senior pastor Chuck Smith was beginning a teaching sermon that blessed me and further enlarged my understanding of the biblical text of his message. I can still remember listening to Pastor Chuck on AM radio several decades ago as I drove over my sales route. Your pastor Chuck seems to be the same gracious and humble man of God today who I admired and learned to love way back then, and through whose preaching and teaching I received much needed knowledge of scripture and sound biblical doctrine at a time in my life when I was prone to be led into believing misinterpretations of bible passages and into false doctrines espoused by what I now call "health and wealth" bible "teachers" who either knowingly or in ignorance preach and teach a false doctrine regarding God's will for our material prosperity and physical wellbeing.

Anyway I just wanted to let you know that your church and pastor are getting through to people by way of the internet in case you were not aware of that fact.

My prayers to God and good wishes to you (for whatever good my wishes do you LOL) go out from here along with my undying gratitude for your concern and prayerful intervention with God for Ken's life and health.

Maranatha, rejoice for the Lord cometh!!