What can you count on? Really? What is stable for you? What is it that will be there for you forever, never failing, always consistent? What do you value? What is it that takes up the bulk of your time/attention/focus? Where do you turn when things don’t go your way? What would devastate you if it was no longer there?
We had another…ANOTHER tragedy in our community this past week. A classmate, colleague, friend, neighbor, teacher, guidance counselor, and overall great, inspirational, positive role model passed away suddenly. Someone very near to me asked, “Why is there so much death, so much hurt? I just don’t get it.” It’s a very valid question.
Death is not new to our “world” nor foreign to our community. I’m sure that there are many places in our city/state/country and certainly world that have far more tragedies to deal with. However, that alone is one of the problems with how people look at things. “Well, others have it worse so…” This is dysfunctional and counterproductive to healing. It denies your pain and your right to grieve. The hurts leave marks whether you look at them or not, whether someone has bigger scars or not.
Whether it be children dying, young adults passing way too soon, classmates losing their life far before what anyone would deem “their time”, teachers, principals, neighbors, we have seen way too much death in so many different ways. This goes along with the more traditional passing of our elderly, while more expected and in a more standard life order, is painful nonetheless. All in all, it becomes too much. Way too much.
I wrote a post over 3 years ago in reference to Trey being diagnosed as terminally ill. I mentioned the one thing that you need to survive having a loved one diagnosed with something terminal. This is different. This is the one thing that you can count on. This is the one thing that remains. This is the one thing that will be consistent in your life. This is the one thing that will never, ever, go away.
It’s God. Shocking, However, it’s made more and more true with every tragedy we face. Everything you have can be taken from you. Everyone you love can (and will) die. Your health, your wealth, your anything and everything can be gone in an instant. There is one thing that remains, God. Even when your life here comes to an end here on earth you know who you will see next? Yeah, God. I pray that you are prepared for that. If you’re not, please let me or someone you know that is prepared for that know so that we can help you with that.
Fight Him, swear at Him, ignore Him, it doesn’t matter. He will still be there. There comes a time when you have to figure out where you and He stand. With each tragedy comes another reminder and opportunity to take care of just that.
My heart breaks for all of those affected by this and all other horrific losses. I pray that God will continue to comfort the hurting through those who have hurt before them.