We had looked forward so much to having children, but our dear baby died when she was only a month old due to some serious birth defects. Why did God let this happen? I admit I'm having a hard time dealing with this. Is it wrong for me to feel this way? — Mrs. J.F.

No, you shouldn't feel guilty over your reaction to this tragedy. Almost nothing in life is harder for any parent to bear than the death of a child. No matter how young or old they were, or what the circumstances were, a child's death brings a heavy burden of grief to all who knew them.

And grief, I've found, isn't something that goes away easily or quickly. Even when someone dies after a long and full life, their loved ones will still feel a great sense of loss. The shortest verse in the Bible consists of only two words, but they give us a profound insight into Jesus' compassion as He mourned the death of His friend Lazarus: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

Why did God allow this to happen to you? I have pondered questions like this most of my life—but I don't have a complete answer. Someday in heaven we will fully understand—but not yet. As the Bible says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

But take comfort in what we do know! Take comfort in the fact that your little daughter is now safe in the arms of Jesus forever. Take comfort too in the fact that God knows what you are going through, for His only Son was snatched away by death. And take comfort most of all in God's love, and in the hope we have of heaven because of Christ's resurrection. Is your hope in Him?