When injustice touches a loss, grief deepens in ways that feel impossible to navigate. On the national stage, the sudden assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk stunned many who admired his voice and vision, leaving a void in a community that looked to him for guidance. Closer to home, Grenada grieves not one but two devastating losses: Trey Reed, a beloved son, friend, and mentor whose warmth and laughter linger in the hearts of all who knew him; and Ayden Reno, a 16-year-old junior at Grenada High — a defensive back for the Chargers football team and a singer in the Visions show choir — whose promising life was suddenly cut short under heartbreaking circumstances. In each of these cases, the loss feels too abrupt, too unfair, stirring a painful mixture of sorrow, confusion, and disbelief.
As we’ve discussed in past columns, when trauma accompanies loss, grief is rarely linear. Layers of emotion — anger, confusion, betrayal — demand to be unpacked. When injustice enters the picture, whether in mass tragedies or personal loss, we can’t help but stare into the heavens and ask, Why?
Where was God when Charlie Kirk, so faithfully serving, was struck down? Where was He in Trey Reed and Ayden Reno’s final moments? These are the elephants in the room no one dares whisper. Yet, as Philip Yancey writes in Disappointment with God:
“To truly heal, these questions must be spoken. They must be explored. Prayed about. In safe, healthy ways. God is big enough to take our loudest WHY. Shout it at the sovereign Lord of the universe. You may not receive a clear answer — but in speaking, healing begins.”
Grief expert Dr. J. William Worden notes that naming and voicing anger, doubt, or confusion allows emotions to be processed rather than suppressed. It’s less about finding answers and more about giving your pain a voice.
Griever’s Toolbox
• Write it out — Journal raw, unfiltered thoughts. Let your “why” be spoken on paper.
God is big enough. Say your questions. Let your soul be heard. In that honesty of grief, healing begins — not because all answers come, but because your pain is no longer hidden.
Debbie Simler-Goff, Certified Mental Health Coach (AACC) Email: debbiesimler@gmail.com
