One of my favorite quotes of all time is “never challenge worse.”

It’s great advice, because frankly, it can always be worse.

Always.

But for me, the quote’s source propelled it to the neighborhood of Jack Buck’s “Go crazy folks! Go crazy”: Bill Cosby.

While Cosby used the line on one of his comedy albums years prior to his legal woes, he certainly is a man who knows you should never say “it couldn’t get worse.”

However, I think I may have met the exception to that rule. A person who could, in fact, challenge worse and possibly win.

In 32 years of writing newspaper stories, I’ve met a lot of people who’ve experienced some terrible personal tragedies. Whether it’s sitting bedside next to a loved one who slowly dies from chronic disease, losing a family member to a violent crime, or personally suffering through multiple bouts of cancer, there’s plenty of “worse” to go around.

Yet most people would agree the most painful, the worse of the worse, is a parent who buries their child.

It’s not natural. Children should bury their parents. That’s the typical progression of life.

But when God has other plans, and that typical progression becomes atypical and the parent instead buries the child, it causes an unparalleled level of anguish.

I’ve witnessed it firsthand when my sister died from cancer and the pain that caused my parents. However, they were comforted by the fact she was an adult who packed in 84 years of experiences in her shortened 42-year-life.

Again, careful to challenge worse, losing a child at a much younger age, one who didn’t get to experience as much life, would seem to be more difficult to accept.

As a parent myself, like most I’m sure, I shudder at the thought of losing one my children today, none of whom have seen a 17th birthday.

And yet, as bad an experience as burying your own child would be, not being able to bury your child could be worse.

Last week, I interviewed Arlin Henderson’s mom, Debbie Griffith. For the last 34 years, she has lived with a parent’s worst nightmare: the disappearance of her then 11-year-old son.

The toll of not knowing what happened to her son, whether he’s dead or alive, and if he’s dead, how, when, where and why did it happen plagues her to this day.

Debbie doesn’t hide her grief, or worry, or concern, like some would. After 34 years, she wears it on her sleeve …tired of pretenses…tired of not knowing what happened to her son.

And to add to her misery, all of the other terrible things I mentioned, losing a loved one to disease, or a violent crime, or suffering personal health trials, she can check all three of those boxes as well.

In the last 35 years, she’s lost two husbands, buried her daughter who was murdered by her husband and survived not one, but two rounds of cancer.

It doesn’t take a lot of empathy to understand why she would say she’s tired of pretty much everything life has to offer.

Amazingly though, to her credit, she isn’t giving up. She has a 15-year-old great grandson to raise and she’s doing the best she can.

And through it all, she has maintained a steadfast faith in God and Jesus Christ that has to be admired regardless of religious affiliation.

While she admits to worrying she won’t get into heaven because of the anger she harbors to whomever stole her son, I have to believe God’s going to cut her a little slack on that front.

Anyone who can legitimately challenge worse has certainly earned that grace.

Gregory Orear is the General Manager and Editor of the Lincoln County Journal, Elsberry Democrat, Troy Free Press and Savannah Reporter. While never challenging worse, he also realizes life isn’t fair, which unfortunately for his children, he reminds them of frequently. You can contact him at gorear@cherryroad.com.