Observing Grief: 2

C. S. Lewis was profoundly changed, as one should be, by his marriage to Joy Davidman. A Grief Observed is his ordeal of dealing with her death in light of the Gospel and the goodness of God. We turn to chapter two at present since chapter one is discussed in a previous entry. Chapter one concludes with Lewis still hearing her voice vividly, a voice that can turn him into a "whimpering child" at any moment.

C.S. Lewis with Joy Davidman

We pick up the second chapter with a real fear, that Lewis's opened door to love and affection will now close again. "Oh God, God, why did you take such trouble to force this creature out of its shell if it is doomed to crawl back -- to be sucked back -- into it?" Lewis asks.

It's a legitimate question. Why do we let lose our affections when we know that they'll be broken with death or distrust or some other pain? Lewis struggles with an answer and he cringes to know that the raw memory of his wife will soon fade with time and through the natural process of grieving.

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