Where's God?

Last weekend our hearts were broken. The 14 year old son of our friends died unexpectedly at a church youth event. Our friends have lost their only child. There truly are no words to adequately express the sorrow we feel for them. And yet, in the midst of such darkness, the Lord is at work. That Sunday our church family came together for worship. We were all stunned by the events of the weekend, and desperate for the Lord to shed some light on the overwhelming grief. As it would happen, our Pastor was away on vacation that week. He had scheduled for a guest speaker to take his place. Although the Pastor tried to get a flight home, he was unable to return in time to be with us for our Sunday worship. But the Lord, of course, knew all this was to happen. In His mercy and wisdom, He provided the perfect messenger. The scheduled guest speaker had lost a teenage son in a drowning 13 years ago. Coincidence? I don't think so. God sent us the only person who could help us make sense of it all. He was able to share with us what a parent feels when a child dies, what is helpful and what isn't. He was able to share how he was able to eventually find peace with the knowledge that the Lord truly is in control. These things do happen for a reason, even if we don't see it this side of eternity. At the invitation, the church was encouraged to come forward to pray, or be prayed for by our Deacons. Many people went forward, and we collectively grieved for Patrick and prayed for his parents. A couple I had never seen before went forward, weeping. Most of the teens in the church went forward, formed a circle and prayed and grieved together. Men and women were openly weeping. The song went on for quite a while. I don't know how the worship team managed to keep singing. You could actually feel the Holy Spirit fill the room with His mercy and grace. Words really don't do justice to the magnitude of the experience. On a side note, my husband's aunt just happened to visit church that day. She lives nearby and visits on occasion. She had no idea what had happened, and later said that if she had known she probably wouldn't have come. You see, 4 years ago her daughter died. Coincidence that she happened to come that day? I don't think so. When the music ended I turned and saw her tear-streaked face. But there was something else there too. A look of peace I haven't seen in 4 years. The next day I called to check on her. She stated that the service was the most healing thing that has happened since her daughter died. And she just happened to come that day? Yeah, right.

When the unthinkable happens it's easy to wonder where God is in it all. How could He let this happen? I think it's normal to wonder why, but we have to trust that God is in control. Sometimes that's not the easiest thing to do. But as far as where God was in all of this, I can tell you for sure. He was right there with us all. It would have been impossible to miss Him.