Safe Places, Safe People, and Safe Situations
My current situation with my wife and her only sibling brother my brother-in-law
diagnosed with stage 4 cancer continues for me a ministry with the crisis of death. This will not
be my first time having to provide crisis counseling for my in-laws on February 14 2022, my
brother-in-law lost his daughter, my wife’s niece in a car accident. Wright says, “This ministry is
one that needs to continue for months and, in some cases years”1 and as a pastoral caregiver
prayer and supplication is essential as my family are in both grieving process and now walking
with into an expected death crisis.
As a pastoral crisis caregiver, prayer would be my initial first step for someone that is
going through bereavement. God who alone brings about the understanding of any crisis, Heath
in his publication emphasized that it is imperative to solicit prayer because prayer is a crucial
element of a pastoral caregiver’s preparation to the process of crisis counseling.2 Fervent prayer
is always need and a Paul tells those in the church Thessalonica to “pray with ceasing” (1 Thess.
5:16) while also praying for the peace of God, which by prayer and supplication will bring about
an understand in any situation ordained by God that will keep our hearts and minds through Jesus
Christ (Phil. 4:6-7[KJV]).
Creating a safe place for a care seeker in bereavement will also be crucial an area in
which a caregiver will have to provide a response that shows that I understand the significance of
the loss and corroborate the intensity of their feelings either over the loss or in some cases their
1 Wright, H. Norman. The Complete Guide to Crisis & Trauma Counseling: What to Do and Say
when it Matters Most!. Gospel Light Publications, 2011. Pg. 37
2 Lambert, Heath. A theology of biblical counseling: The doctrinal foundations of counseling
ministry. Zondervan Academic, 2016. Pg. 176
3 Idid., Wright. 274.
doubt. However, the task will be to help someone in bereavement find the appropriate place in
his or her bereavement and learn how to live with a memory rather than a person.3 Grieving over
a loss rather expected or unexpected is never easy but in both cases the will need safe people.
The will need friends and relatives and lay persons to give emotional support without become
exhaustive. In addition to, they will need safe situation as explained by Wright in our classroom
text is that a caregiver should make available to someone worthwhile uncomplicated simple and
stress free roles to implement that will benefit him or her.
