Today my role very quickly switched from pastor to dad. I was in a meeting preparing for a potential new ministry our church is considering. We were talking about the future, with big dreams of ministry and new ways of helping people. I love thinking Kingdom-building strategy.
I received a call that went straight to my voice mail. In consideration of those I was meeting with, I decided not to be interrupted. Then there was another call; then a text; then another. I decided I needed to figure out what was the urgency. Sadly, the news was tragic. One of my son Nate’s childhood friends had been killed in an auto accident this morning. The girl’s mother was one of Nate’s favorite teachers.
Nate and his friend Kathleen had been together since kindergarten. They were like brother and sister. They had remained in touch over the last month, both attending school away from home, and even talked within the last day or two. At the point when I got the message, my only concern was getting to Nate before he heard the news in passing. At that point, I was no longer a pastor in a meeting. I was a dad hurrying to comfort a son. Nothing else seemed to matter much the rest of the day.
It’s so hard to make sense of death and tragedy. There are more questions than answers tonight in so many minds. The phrase I heard continually today from Nate and others was, “I can’t wrap my mind around this.” There are no words to say. Eighteen is not supposed to be the age of death. I do know one thing, however. The truth of God’s Word is not altered, even after the tragic news of the day. God truly is close to the broken-hearted.
Nate and a large group of friends from his class were extremely close, but recently scattered to many different colleges. They will be home this weekend, for a very sad occasion, and, in many ways, it will be a reunion. Their coming together will honor their friendship, but also be a tribute to the memory of a good friend, who tragically left this earth too soon.
Please join me in praying for this family and the friends who mourn.
My God! I will definitely keep them all in prayer. You are right God is close to the brokenhearted and though it isn’t a biblical scripture the words remain to be true…God will not give you more than you can bare. And though life’s curves, highways and byways are not friendly we can go THRU it all with Christ Jesus. For “earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal.” This talk of death leads me to my question…is our death already written from the beginning of earth. I mean like there have been instances where someone was suppose to walk and they caught a ride instead and then they ended up in a car accident. If they had chosen to walk would they have been still alive or is it as folk say it is all the time “when it’s your time to go you are going regardless where you are, what you are doing?”
How very sad… weddings and funerals… that was really the only time that a lot of my high school friends were ALL together in one spot. One occasion so happy and the other, seemed to happen SO often, even for the tiny high school we went to. We will be praying for Nate and his friends and for Kathleen’s family.
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