Christians often assume they're equipped to deal with tragedy if it enters their lives, but like most people, think it never really will. What happens, then, when we follow God's will to the best of our abilities and heartbreak strikes? Do we mean it when we implore "Have Thine own way, Lord" or does that only apply in times of blessings or small, manageable hurts?

John Feinberg knows that conundrum intimately. In 1987 his beloved wife was diagnosed with an incurable, genetically transmitted disease. They were...