Pain

I once thought the death of my father was the deepest type of pain I would ever feel (knowing of course that this depth of pain would follow again with future familial passings). I accepted at the time of my father's death that the pain would never go away and I would never stop missing him. Well there have been times that I have had that aching type of missing and now is just one of those times.
I recently have had to watch my son become so inconsolable and nearly hysterical with pain (so very young to experience this level of pain). A break up after 4 1/2 years although 80% his choice resulted in unbearable pain for him primarily because of the pain he knows he caused the other party. How do you console an individual whose heart was literally turned into ground round? How do you tell this hurting loved one that the pain will get better (without sounding flippant)? How do you convince this individual that this is probably the best for both parties at this time, even though he feels like maybe he made the biggest mistake of his life? How do you stand by and watch this loved one curl up into the fetal position and know there is absolutely NOTHING you can do to take away the pain, except to hold him, listen to him, and constantly reassure him that you love him and always will?
I don't know how to do all these things. They weren't covered in the "mommy handbook". I may not know how to do these things but what I do know is that my own pain watching my son hurt is only a tiny minuscule part of the excruciating pain he is feeling and I am so helpless to comfort him.
I know that our dear God has a plan for all of us, and in the end he has a remarkable plan for my son because my son is a remarkable man. And I do hope that the old cliche', "this will make you stronger" is more than a cliche' and a fact. I also hope that this degree of pain only happens to an individual once in a lifetime.