Lament for a son

You may easily understand why Lament for a Son was so very powerful for me. Dr. Wolterstorff wrote this small book as he responded, reacted, and grieved the loss of his son. He had an amazing career as a philosopher (as expressed HERE) and his ability to communicate the depths of the heart and mind come from that dedication. His son, at 25 years old, never returned from a hiking trip. Lament for a Son is a wise man vocalizing his grief from the fractured heart and mind left behind.

Nicholas Wolterstorff wrote for those of us who have lost a child. But he, like myself, found that the observations, feelings, and physical pain from loss are transcendent. He notes his purpose in publishing, “in the hope that some of those who sit beside us on the mourning bench for children would find my words giving voice to their own honoring and grieving.” I am one of many who have been aided by sitting on the bench with this broken father. I pray that in my writing others will join and be aided for their unique journey as well.

There are no chapters in this book. Some movements last a paragraph or three. The maximum is two pages. I found it to be a very comfortable pace to walk in his emotion and depth.

Wolterstorff powerfully expresses many of our questions and does not posit many answers. Let me leave you with one of the most important truths I have learned in this journey. From this book and Crucified God by Moltmann, they articulate how intimate God is with pain. Wolterstorff explains that “God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. The pain and fallenness of humanity have entered into his heart. Through the prism of my tears I have seen a suffering God.” I believe we can only know this side of our God through heart wrenching pain. I wish it were not so.

Please order it HERE and begin soaking it in. Wolterstorff is sitting on the bench waiting for you to listen so that you may know and maybe someday speak or not.