When Grief Meets Grace

What does unconditional love look like in the face of unimaginable suffering? The answer arrives in the form of a father's letter that will break your heart and rebuild it in the same reading.
The letter reveals something profound about love's true nature. "Bristol, you taught me how to love," the father writes, acknowledging that he learned to love her through every difficulty – when she could no longer speak, when her body contorted, when she needed diapers for ten years. He loved her "when I was close to God and when He seemed far away, when I was full of faith and also when I was angry at Him." His testimony reminds us that genuine love transcends circumstances and reciprocity.
If you're facing loss today, may you find strength in knowing you're not alone. God remains present, offering not easy answers but His unfailing presence. Join me again tomorrow as we continue finding perspective for life's most challenging moments.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with
Danny Mac.
I'm going to be here everyMonday to Friday to help you get
a great five-minute start toyour day.
So grab your cup of coffee, sitback, relax and let me help you
start your day right.
I've heard it said that themost traumatic experience for a
parent is the death of one oftheir children.

(00:27):
Just about three weeks ago, afriend contacted me and told me
about the unexpected death ofher son.
Through the tears and the sobsI could hear the agony in her
voice.
My heart aches for her.
I can't begin to understand thedepth of the pain of losing a
child.
I can't begin to understand thedepth of the pain of losing a
child.
Dr James Dobson has helpedparents deal with this

(00:48):
throughout the years.
Several years ago he received aletter from a man who had just
lost his daughter.
There was a letter that was toDr Dobson, and then the envelope
also contained a second letter.
It was a copy of a letter fromthis father to his daughter who
had passed away.
Her name was Bristol.
Let me share it with you now.

(01:18):
My dear Bristol, before you wereborn I prayed for you In my
heart.
I knew you would be a littleangel, and so you were.
When you were born on mybirthday, april 7, it was
evident that you were a specialgift from the Lord, but how
profound a gift.
You turned out to be.
More than the beautiful bundleof gurgles and rosy cheeks, more
than the firstborn of my flesha joy unspeakable.
You showed me God's love morethan anything else in all

(01:41):
creation.
Bristol, you taught me how tolove.
I certainly loved you when youwere cuddly and cute, when you
rolled over and you sat up andyou jabbered your first words.
I loved you when the searingpain of realization took hold
that something was wrong, thatmaybe you were not developing as

(02:01):
quickly as your peers, and thenwhen we understood that it was
far more serious than that.
I loved you when we went fromhospital to clinic to doctor
looking for a medical diagnosisthat would bring some hope.
And, of course, we alwaysprayed for you and prayed and
prayed.
I loved you when one of thetests resulted in too much

(02:21):
spinal fluid being drawn fromyour body and you screamed.
I loved you when you moaned andcried, when your mom and I and
your sisters would drive forhours late at night to help you
fall asleep.
I loved you with tears in myeyes, when, confused, you would
bite your fingers or your lip byaccident, and when your eyes
crossed and then went blind.

(02:43):
I most certainly loved you whenyou could no longer speak, but
how profoundly I missed yourvoice.
I loved you when your scoliosisstarted, retching your body
like a pretzel, when we put atube in your stomach so you
could eat, because you werechoking on your food, which we
fed you one spoonful at a timefor up to two hours per meal,

(03:07):
food which we fed you onespoonful at a time for up to two
hours per meal.
I managed to love you when yourcontorted limbs would not allow
ease of changing your messydiapers.
So many diapers, ten years ofdiapers.
Bristol, I even loved you whenyou could not say the one thing
in my life, bristol, I loved youwhen I was close to God and

(03:31):
when he seemed far away, when Iwas full of faith and also when
I was angry at Him.
And the reason I loved you, myBristol, in spite of these
difficulties, is that God putthis love in my heart.
This is the wondrous nature ofGod's love that he loves us even
when we are blind and deaf ortwisted in body or in spirit.
He loves us, even when we can'ttell him that we love him back.

(03:55):
My dear Bristol, now you arefree.
I look forward to that day,according to God's promises,
when we will be joined togetherwith you, with the Lord,
completely whole and full of joy.
I'm so happy that you have yourcrown first.
We will follow you someday inhis time.
Before you were born, I prayedfor you In my heart.

(04:20):
I knew that you would be anangel, and so you are.
Love Daddy.
In these times of incrediblepain and loss, there is only one
place where we can find anyhope, and just like this father
did in this letter, the onlyhope can truly come from God.
I read a letter from anotherparent who'd lost a child, and

(04:43):
they found encouragement andstrength in these verses from
Psalm 34.
I will praise the Lord at alltimes.
I will constantly speak Hispraises.
I will boast only in the Lord.
Let all who are helpless takeheart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord'sgreatness.
Let us exalt His name together.

(05:04):
I prayed to the Lord and heanswered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him for helpwill be radiant with joy.
No shadow of shame will darkentheir faces.
In my desperation, I prayed andthe Lord listened and he saved
me from all my troubles, for theangel of the Lord is a guard.

(05:27):
He surrounds and defends allwho fear him.
Take care, my friends.
We will talk again tomorrow.
Thank you for listening todayand I invite you to join me
Monday to Friday, right here on,starting Right with Danny Mac.