Page 9 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 17

Paul Loosemore

Dr Paul Loosemore is an Assistant Professor of Counseling at Co-
venant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, USA. His research and
writing investigates both practical application, and theory sur-
rounding Christian Psychology and counseling. Paul is also the
clinical director of Covenant’s counseling center and maintains a
clinical private practice.

Situating Grief in Redemptive that supplied our baseline happiness stop
working or wilt. For example, how do you
History for the Sake of Joy feel when your cell phone stops working,

your coffee spills, the meal isn’t ideal, or
We consistently experience the loss of eve- your special someone shifts their attention
ry-day-good-things; flowers, a good meal, or to something else?
time with friends. Redemptive History pro- This condition is not new. Oswald Cham-
vides a context within which to understand bers (1935) pointed out the dynamics of
our lives and the ebb and flow of pleasure demand in human relationships, and I sug-
and sorrow. We explore this context, and gest his observations also apply to every-
then demonstrate how therapists can assist day objects and experiences:
clients to develop an accurate Redemptive If we love a human being [or experience of
Historical perspective of gain and loss. The any kind] and do not love God, we demand
culmination of this renewed perspective is of him [or it] every perfection and every
increased acceptance of momentary grief, rectitude, and when we do not get it, we
fuller experiences of joy, and life strategies become cruel and vindictive; we are de-
that align with God’s kingdom. manding of a human being [or thing] that
which he or she [or it] cannot give.
The Desire for Joy and Relief There is only one Being who can satisfy the
In the western world, happiness is com- last aching abyss of the human heart and
monly pursued through consumption and this is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why our Lord
experience. We come upon, and loose, is apparently so severe regarding every hu-
pleasurable things on a daily basis. How man relationship is because He knows that
we interpret and interaction with loss si- every relationship not based on loyalty to
gnificantly alters our lived experience. Himself will end in disaster. (p. 154)
Take the humble dandelion as an examp-
le. When I use the blooming yellow flower Let us return to the dandelion when it is rea-
to satiate my hunger for joy and pleasure, dy to seed—wispy and white. It is beautiful,
I consume it. When the flower wilts, how but if you breathe heavily or the wind picks
will I be sustained? Should I find another, up, it is gone. But you can pick another, and
and potentially more satisfying flower? then another. This is just an example, but
Consumerism is fueled as we habituate to the cycle of gain and loss in life provokes
our current comforts. We often long for grief. The ebb and flow of everyday life in
more pleasure, and get immensely frustra- the already-and-not-yet of the kingdom
ted or bitter, when the everyday good-gifts is just like the dandelion. It comes, and

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