grief

I thought that this quote was quite timely considering Monday's accident. This is our local paper's latest article on it.

“What the Lord expects from us at such seasons is not to abandon ourselves to unreasoning sorrow, but trustingly to look sorrow in the face, to scan its features, to search for the help and hope, which, as surely as God is our Father, must be there. In such trials there can be no comfort for us so long as we stand outside weeping.

If only we will take the courage to fix our gaze deliberately upon the stern countenance of grief, and enter unafraid into the darkest recesses of our trouble, we shall find the terror gone, because the Lord has been there before us, and, coming out again, has left the place transfigured, making of it by the grace of his resurrection a house of life, the very gate of heaven.”

-Geerhardus Vos (HT: GDC)

The Gospel gives us hope because Christ suffered in every way. He wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus, and then he felt the sting of death himself. He is our only comfort.

-joe

fleeting happiness and soul-crushing grief

Today I received a great gift. I got a Marmot Nyx 2 and some sweet MSR cookware. For those who don't know...that's a $280 tent and $80 pots for camping. The weird part? I don't have any clue as to who sent them. I got them from the Oregon Mountain Company and the box contained no bill of lading and no original sender. A completely anonymous gift.

Someone who knows me well got these things, because the tent is the exact color and one of 3 models that I have been looking at and the pots are the exact ones that I wanted. So, to whoever it is...THANKS! I appreciate them more than you know.

And on to grief.

This day also made me realize how fleeting my happiness can be in receiving such presents. The last few days in Fulton County have been filled with about 7 inches of rain. Massive flooding everywhere, roads closed, schools closed and riverbeds overflowed.

Yesterday a young mother of 5 hit high water and attempted to back out only to be swept into over 7 feet of water. Her SUV quickly began sinking with all of her kids trapped inside.

A passing car stopped and called 911 as the mother desperately tried to rescue her children. She was only able to save 3.

The paper tonight gave the story of her relentless pursuit of trying to pull them from the car and the unsuccessful attempts at rescue by the fire and police departments (they responded quickly and acted quickly but not in time.) My heart breaks for her and her family. What heartache. What grief.

Let us bond together to pray for her, that she might fall upon Christ, that He may be glorified and that her family will bond and grow closer.

Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."

Join me in mourning and weeping the death of the two children and the pain of the family.

-joe