This article demonstrates that affliction is a state of anguish that has physical, social and psychological dimensions as well as spiritual ramifications. In this way, affliction is the most profound form of suffering, as it leaves no area of life unscathed. The article--written from a confessional perspective--explores the following concepts in the greatest detail: the agony and activity of waiting for the sufferer, the persistence of hope, and the longing for spiritual transformation through affliction. With respect to loss and recovery in children, it is becoming increasingly evident that adults must become comfortable in talking about loss and recovery in their own lives; they must communicate their own stories of anguish so that they can better hear--and respond to--what children communicate about their own losses. Therefore, the author's own journey through affliction (resulting from a motor vehicle accident), is described in the latter half of the article.