We received tragic news during our trip home this past weekend: a hit and run accident that had claimed the life of a very dear friend of many people close to us had also taken the life of one of her twin boys. As I heard this news over my cell phone while we drove, the tears came quickly. Like her, I was a mom in a minivan with my precious children seated behind me.
“The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me…”
Mercy sat behind me singing, not seeing my tears.
“I stand alone on the word of God…”
Her joyful singing collided with the pain burning inside me.
We trust God. We love God. We do stand on his word. And the Mikasa family had surely built their lives upon the rock that is Jesus. And yet the waves came and so much was taken from them.
“The B-I-B-L-E!”
Scripture holds so many promises. Promises of reward and blessing and life. And I see those rewards played out in the lives of so many around me often enough. But scripture also tells enough stories of loss and suffering, and these things are also devastatingly present in what I see, among the good and wicked alike.
Lord, have mercy. Have mercy.
Weeping with you, for this family unknown to me, but not to God.
His ways are not my ways. Not even close.
Kris and I join you and yours in this time of grief, Erika.
Sharing your sorrow, and hoping to someday understand what Paul meant when he wrote: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.”
Philippians 1:27-29 TNIV
The rain falls on the just and the unjust.
Everybody gets wet.
No way to keep from getting crazy without embracing it.
Thanks for the words of comfort and the sharing in this family’s grief. And yes, Tom, that is very well said.