For instance, Sally, * in the United States, who lost most of her possessions in a hurricane, explains: “I didn’t know how much more I could take. Many days I felt that I was near the breaking point.”

Or what if a loved one dies? Janice, in Australia, says: “When I lost both my sons, I had to gather the fragments of my shattered life and reassemble them as best I could. I begged God: ‘Please, my heart can’t take any more! Just let me sleep. I don’t want to wake up again.’”

Daniel, on the other hand, was devastated when his wife was unfaithful. He explains: “When my wife confessed that she had been unfaithful, it was like a knife pierced my heart. I felt this physical pain stabbing me again and again​—and it lasted several months.”

This issue of The Watchtower will consider how life can be worth living even when

• Disaster strikes

• A loved one dies

• A spouse is unfaithful

• You are dealing with a serious illness

• Life becomes unbearable

So, first, how can we cope when disaster strikes?