I learned through the tragedy in Montana that took the lives of twin brothers how small we really are in this world.

Matthew 7:24-8:13 English Standard Version (ESV)
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

It began with a simple text from my son at 6:30 am on Tuesday morning- 'please prayer for two of our life group participants, she lost her two younger brothers in a tragic car accident in Montana.'  Her husband served on the tech team at Emanuel Covenant Church in Shoreview, Minnesota. A little later, I received the news via my wife from the President of Heritage Christian Academy to please pray for our colleague who recently lost 2 twin younger brothers in a car accident in Montana. He is the school's computer person. 

News continued to drift in through the day regarding the accident. Their car crashed into a guard rail before going back into the line of traffic hitting head on the car coming toward them. Two brothers, along with a 66-year-old woman were gone in an instant.  

Tragedy teaches us how small we really are in this universe. We think we have control, but in reality, we have little control. This is where the prosperity gospel has it all wrong! Bad things do happen even though we do all the right things in life.  God isn't some lucky charm or pet rock we can pull out of our pocket when we need him. He isn't s some motivational speaker offering up warm fuzzy platitudes so you might feel better at the moment. 

Life cannot be measured by how much we make or the inheritance we received from Aunt Mary, or winning the lottery and becoming instant millionaires.  Hard times will come to those do the right things in life.

 We think we will live forever until that is we get the unthinkable diagnosis, or we lose control of our car and lose our life in an instant.   The best thing we can do in life whenever tragedy strikes us is to put one foot in front of the other, trusting God that He knows what to do with our pain and always honoring God on the Sabbath no matter how we're feeling at the moment. 

I've learned that emotions come and go, but God's love for us remains the same. He is our Rock when all other ground is sinking sand.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever just as Hebrews 13:6 reminds us. Out of the bellows of our grief, beautiful worship is created and changed lives result when others see you never miss the opportunity to worship the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords even when the heaviness of heart weighs you down.

If you are someone who is missing a loved one today through tragedy, I encourage you to look at Grief share as a source that will teach you how to go through the pain of loss, not around it. I can assure you that if you continue loving God with all your heart after your loss as you did before, He will bring you through the pain where one day you will have a smile on your face, a calmness to your breathing, and a hope for your future.  

God will never disappoint. 

Everyone's got a story

 

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Acts 2

Today, when one thinks of  Chicago, we think of division and strife and if you're a Minnesota Viking fan you also think of those dastardly Bear's.  We learned on our recent trip to Chicago to witness the marriage of two of my wife's work colleagues that Chicago is more than just division.

We stayed in the Doubletree hotel not far from the Church hosting the wedding. One morning as my wife and I walked back from breakfast we overheard a group of young African American woman praying fervently with increasing volume. Since we were from the land of Nice, Minnesota nice to be exact, it was quite natural to think this was inappropriate in a public space. I mentioned to her I thought there was a Pentecostal prayer event being held this weekend. Later that day, I encountered several from this group and asked them about their event.  I learned that it was indeed a Church event they were hosting that weekend. One lady shared the theme for that weekend, 'Everyone's got a story'.  They invited me to join this event, but I had to declined explaining that we were in Chicago for a wedding.

As we talked, I mentioned how heaven will be a place of beautiful worship, unlike anything we have ever experienced on earth.  We all agreed that worship will be about worshipping our Creator King Jesus without prejudice,  hatred, or segregationist thinking.  There will be such an array of colors of people, unlike anything we ever would have experienced in life.

 For most of us, it is easy to hide our story by putting our best image forward without any thought of how our story might change the course of another person's life.  Most of us were taught to use our left brain to use logic and reason to spread the gospel without realizing that our story also plays an intricate part of that process.  

 I praise God for this Pentecostal church event to remind me once again the importance of our stories in bringing others to Christ.

I remember hearing a speaker one time say that very few of us will leave this world without being traumatized in some manner. 

What is your story and how are you using it to advance the kingdom for Christ?

Rather than use this post to lament the loss of my daughter, Maria, I want to focus on God's unfailing love to those who grieve.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

I read a post of a Pastor, on the south side of our city reminiscing the daughter he lost 10 years ago. Anyone who has ever lost a child will tell you that the 'anniversary' of their death still remains fresh in the minds of those who loved that person.  

Grief has a way of humanizing people. The scars that remain become a permanent reminder of the existence of their loved one. 

Grief, I've learned, is a universal emotion- something that impacts every living creature.  Anyone who has ever watched a grieving goose as they stood next to their lifeless mate will realize the realities of that statement.  If it is universal, then why are so many people refusing to acknowledge their grief when it occurs? 

Why is it we would rather bury all of the pain by working too much, drinking too much, or just staying busy?  

Why is it that men are incapable of offering comfort to the females in their lives when they are grieving the loss of a person they loved, telling them instead to focus on life's activities than shedding tears of sorrow? 

Why is it we treat grief and sorrow with an anti-depressant than offering a listening ear and encouraging their stories to flow until those stories lose their traumatizing effects on the person?

Why is it we would rather run from God when a loss occurs than too him?

Today marks the anniversary of our families loss of our 10-year-old, Maria.  We wished she was still with us, celebrating her future birthdays and other accomplishments of her life, but because we live in this imperfect world things that shouldn't happen, do.

As I reflect on my grief journey, I marvel at God's lavished blessings that have poured out on my family!  These things are too numerous to mention in one post, but they illustrate to me the importance of trusting God for our pain and putting one foot in front of the other always honoring Him on the Sabbath day regardless of how you feel.

 Out of that commitment, we enjoyed the warm fellowship of our Adult Sunday school class and the prayers of our Life group.  Out of our commitment to serving, each of our family members has embraced a ministry to help others in the body of Christ.

The Christian life isn't about just paying lip service to God on the major holidays of the year, but it is about developing a daily devotional life, always remembering to pray as our need arises. 

Life is like that moving sidewalk we ride on at the Airport.  People we know and enjoy conversations with continuously step off that 'sidewalk' waving to us as their images slowly disappear. As they do, other people will step on that moving sidewalk bringing joy to you with fresh conversations. Life is not only about celebrating life's accomplishments, but it is about saying goodbye to those who step off that moving sidewalk.  Life is about those new friendships we form after our loss.

There is nothing better in life than to embrace our Savior and forming a deeper relationship with Him. Out of our commitment to Christ, we will see God's lavished blessings on our lives and instead of lamenting the person who died we praise God for the few years we had with them!