My heart is breaking. It seems that everywhere I turn, I see death, destruction, heartache. Early this morning, one of our dear sweet YL girls, Abbey Tsumas, lost her life after a tragic car accident. I'm not writing this post to speak about details of this tragedy or even to write about memories of Abbey (though if you knew her, she was beautiful, funny, and so full of life...words cannot do justice in describing this young friend) I am however constantly reminded of words I have read over and over in Romans...Not just now and with this loss, but because my heart has just continued to break every day since last March.
First of all, please do not think that I am going to stand up and preach that everything happens for a reason, and this is what Christ had planned, or even that we are being taught a lesson. Paul does not write this in Romans so that in every bad event, we can brush it off giving some lame advice or piece of wisdom that God caused or made these terrible things to happen, and He just knows whats best. Because he did not. He does not work that way. "Sin has been, and is, the guilty cause of all the suffering that exists in the creation of God"(commentary by Matthew Henry). Simply put, we hurt because pain exists. Pain, hurt, worry, and fear and not from God. We understand these feeling because we are part of this world. As long as we are, we will feel evil and what is evidence of work on this earth that is NOT FROM GOD.
But, there is good news. These sufferings, pains, fears, loss, and feelings of despair are only temporary. They can only last as long as we are here in the present. Compare that with eternity and it is only but "for a moment" (Rom 18). We are waiting in "eager expectation" for what we know is true, right, and glorious! There is so much to anticipate and await. We will one day be made whole again with the "redemption of our bodies" and the welcoming arms of Christ. Abbey has been made whole again. Mom is whole again. Sara is whole. Katie is whole.
If we wait to be happy in life here, on earth, we will never truly be happy. It has to come from Hope. It has to come from Christ. These ladies had it, knew of it, and are experiencing what our minds cannot, in this worldly condition, understand or even fathom.
-----For in this hope, we are saved! Romans 8:24
So...pray. Please pray. Don't worry for the right words. They are there. They are in your groanings, in your pains, in your doubts, and worries. They are there when your "words cannot express". Be still. Seek Him....and Pray
