Spirituality and Religion
![For many people it’s a huge crisis of faith.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9CVYANRMI_c/maxresdefault.jpg)
For many people it’s a huge crisis of faith.
Pediatric and grief psychologist Nancy Frumer Styron and a father talk about the role of spirituality and faith in the parent experience. A severe diagnosis for a child stirs up parents’ belief systems, including a lack of belief: why me? I feel abandoned. Where will my child’s spirit go? I didn’t pray hard enough. For others, their faith doesn’t waver.
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Our faith was already there waiting for us, which made a big difference
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“I would be lying if I said it didn’t rattle our faith in God . . . I think it’s OK to have Why questions and not have perfect clarity.”
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Finding support: “Our faith community really held us up.”
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The Role of a Mother’s Faith during her Son’s 14 Years.
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David’s reaction to his cancer at 10 when very different than his reaction when he relapsed at 14.
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Pediatric cancer: My teenage son was going through spiritual distress; he had questions about his mortality.
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Spirituality: It’s about my relationship with God, not religion; and the power of Prayer.
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“I really believe my son has an eternal soul.”
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My Hindu parents continued to support me in my Christian faith and in my decisions
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Faith and prayer helped with the cascade of decisions: trach, bronchoscopy, open heart surgery?
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The medical providers were respectful of our faith especially when it guided our decisions.
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We let our Pastor know the diagnosis but waited to tell others.
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Faith helped me on the day of my son’s diagnosis.
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Letting God lead: When something like this happens, you question why me? Why us? I ask “please help guide me, show me what it is you need me to do.”
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Mother and Grandmother: How we each thought about prayer.
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“She was the closest I’ll ever get to knowing what God is like on this earth because of the way she was.”
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For many people it’s a huge crisis of faith.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/j3dEvYArH14/hqdefault.jpg)
Three bereaved moms share how they view the spiritual connection between their children.
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The church provided emotional support for us, though my relationship with God has been affected.
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Chaplain: I ask parents that believe in God, “What do you think God wants for you?”
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People say things happen for a reason but I haven’t found the reason yet.
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It’s not fair and I’m at that point where I’m not sure I believe.
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It wasn't good but we felt that God was going to help us deal with everything.
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When you have God on your side, you see everything different.
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Oh my gosh, is she going to heaven?
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I know we’ll spend eternity in heaven together.
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“Can you pray for my family? And can you pray for the nurses?”
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God gives me the strength to keep carrying on.
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You may not appreciate it now, but when the whole thing happens, there is a plan.
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This has given me a lot of hope for humanity.
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Chaplain: Spirituality is how we make meaning.
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I believe in the power of positive thought.
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Don’t talk to me about Karma.
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What I’ve learned from this …
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Christian music just really helps me to stay balanced. God has a plan.
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It really does put your faith to the test … and you find out that it works.
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I find my faith in community.
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Chaplain: “When this happens to me, to my child, Now What?”
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