A horribly tragic thing happened early this morning to one of our church families. They lost their youngest son in a freak car accident. I have been grieving for and with them all day long. It is an awesome thing to be a part of a family that can come up and surround each other in times of mourning. I am in awe of the amount of love and support one receives when they go through a difficult time. I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t have our Christian brothers and sisters to lean on and to talk to. I am reminded of the old Swedish Proverb: “Shared joy is double joy. Shared sorrow is half the sorrow.” It’s such an awesome thing to see the family of God come together to support those who are hurting and in pain.
God reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 that there is a time and a purpose for everything. He reminds us that nothing that happens in this universe happens by chance, but for a specific reason that our feeble minds cannot and will not comprehend until we reach Heaven. The good news is that we serve an amazing God; A God that does not make mistakes. We serve a God that we can trust with our lives, our children’s lives, and in every situation that we will ever encounter. Even though we do not always see the big picture and cannot understand his motives in things, we can trust that God has a plan in this situation and in every situation. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has plans for our welfare and not for harm, plans for a future and hope. Even though tragic things happen, we can trust that God is in control. He knows what he is doing.
Knowing that these things happen, it makes me want to shelter my boys; to not let them out of my sight, to protect them from all of the evils that the world has coming at them. But by doing that, I would be telling God that He is not enough. That He doesn’t have the best in store for their lives, and that I can protect them better than He can. One of the ultimate insults to the God that created the universe and within that, created life, is to assume that He doesn’t know what He is doing, and that you can do it (whatever that ‘it’ is for you, whether it is protecting your children, providing for your family, making plans for the future, etc.) better than He can. The worst thing that could ever happen is for you to deny God’s power to the point that He gives you the freedom to experience what would happen if you really did do things for yourself. Not only would you fail at whatever you were trying to accomplish, but without God in the midst of your life, your whole world would begin to unravel. Slowly, inch by inch, moment by moment, day by day.
So to you, Clark Family, my hope and prayer is that through this horrific accident, through this dark moment in your life, that you would not focus on the darkness, but that you would be surrounded by God’s people and see God’s light shining through others. That the love of God pouring out through your family, friends, neighbors, and church family would fill your heart with so much love that you can rejoice with the Angels that Connor is Home. Let us not forget that in all things, in all situations, God calls us to praise Him (1 Thessalonians ).
The song 'Praise You In This Storm' by Casting Crowns has gotten me through some rough times, and reminded me to Praise God through the storms so that I could Praise Him when times are good. It also reminded me that God sees each tear that we cry. He shares our pain. He knows exactly what you are going through because he, too, has lost a Son. But in the midst of our pain, He is there, waiting to carry us through the storms and trials of life, if only we let him. Such a powerful song for those who are hurting. My thoughts, tears, and prayers are with you, Clark Family, in this difficult time.
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