The Family Under Stress

How a family views a crisis can dramatically change the outcome of the family.

For the sake of this post, lets view how the death of a child can change how a family operates. A family of five suddenly loses their second child. There are two ways this could turn out. A marriage is twice as likely to divorce after the death of a child. But in my opinion (which doesn't amount to much yet) it can also greatly improve the marriage. If a family views this tragedy in a negative way, the mother and father may take to blame of blame others as to why this happened. Then they continue to suffer emotionally and they may not want to talk about it and that can drive a wedge between the mother and the father ant they may lose the closeness and intimacy they need to keep their marriage intact.

On the other hand, a family may view the loss and see what they still have and have a new appreciation for it. The mom and dad could treasure what relationships they do have and cherish them more. They look at their children in a different way. They see them as precious blessings that they might not always have.

The dynamics of a family can be completely different just based on how the family perceives and reacts to a tragedy. Believe it or not this could be a blessing.