When Rubber Meets The Road

A dear, dear sister in Christ experienced a great tragedy this week. It is the kind of tragedy that, in the natural scheme of things, is not supposed to happen. No one should be faced with the trauma of burying their young.

We heard of the news on Monday. Within a matter of seconds, my beloved husband and I ran the gamut of emotions from shock to disbelief to horror to grief. Our hearts breaking and awashed in tears we held each other and prayed to God for strength and comfort and joy and peace and love and hope and servitude to our sister and her family in this time of need.

The next few days were very hard because instinctively, I wanted to give and give and give of whatever they needed to ease their grief and their pain. And what they really needed was family time alone to rally together and support one another. Everytime I stopped and thought of her, and other mothers like her who have lost their young, my heart would break all over again. I could not begin to imagine the depth nor the scope of such pain. I cannot comprehend how to get back to "normal" after such a loss.

Where do you start picking up the pieces? How do you stay strong when her gut-wrenching sobs echo amidst the walls of the mortuary where a memorial service was held? Where do you go to find peace? When will the pain stop? Will it ever stop? What could've been done differently to change the course of events? And the ever present Why God? Why? And God answered.

With the author's permission, following is a reprint of an email many of us received this morning.

It is said that God does not give you anything you can’t handle, but I do believe that there is another part to this scripture- that should read- for only He knows just how many saints are lifting you up in prayer. On Sunday ... My First Born, My Big Girl, My perfect gift from God was taken to be with the Lord. No one should feel what I felt that night, no one should hurt this unfathomable hurt, but most importantly no one should go through this Alone. On the last day of August I was in a chapel and as I grieved I could hear the sound of a crowd growing behind me and right out side the chapel doors. It was the sound of all those saints that had said “you are in my thoughts and in my prayers” Thank you dear saints for your prayers, thank you for the lasting memories that you all have given me ...

In the Lords prayer Jesus uses the word “Us” Give “Us” this day…and forgive “Us” …lead “Us” …, but deliver “Us” from all evil. We are to pray for each other, we are to lift each other during the good and sad times. Lets us continue to keep each other in our hearts, minds and prayers.

I read and re-read this email and dropped to my knees in gratitude to the Lord and His amazing grace and love for all of "US". In the midst of all the pain my comfort and my peace came from my dearest sister in Christ who was suffering the deepest. I finally understood that when it comes time for the proverbial rubber to hit the road, in whatever difficulty or tragedy we find ourselves in, God truly provides the answer and it is our faith in Him, that allows us to transcend our difficulties and our tragedies in life.

God is limitless in His authority over all things He created. He knows our beginning and He knows our end and He orchestrates the in-between. Whether we follow the conductor or go our own way, He, our Lord God Almighty, is in control. And as long as we are willing to submit to God's will for our lives, He will use us in the most spectacular of ways. And whether we find the end of our road at 20 or at 120, it is His grace, His strength, His comfort, His generosity and His love that will carry us through.

To my dearest sister, I grieve for your lost and I am in awe of your heart. I thank God for the privilege of knowing you and being called a friend by you. Before this last week, I have known of only one other person who is Christ-like in his forgiveness. It is very humbling and awe-inspiring to know that God has allowed me to know of one other. I love you my sister and thank you for being an example of faith and hope and peace and love.