The past few days have been immensely painful for me, and
the weight of it all is more than I can bear.
On Sunday morning I received a phone call from one of our
leaders telling me that 3 of our students were in an auto accident. A few
minutes later I received word that one of them did not survive.
She was beautiful, and her smile made the room melt. I will
not post her name until a later date to honor her family. But you should know
that the Kingdom of God lost a mighty and courageous warrior on Sunday. I had
the honor of walking with her through some really tough times in the fall, and
I grew very fond of her open heart and caring personality. She had an easy way
about her that made her wonderful to talk to. You would often find her in the
corner playing with the kid that no one liked, and making silly faces to get
past the awkward tension. And she smiled…a lot. As I am writing this I cannot
remember an instance of her not smiling. Even through tears she smiled.
I never thought that at the age of 28 I would have to call a
father and tell him that his daughter is dead, but life is full of surprises. I
cannot imagine the pain they are experiencing right now. If you knew this
family you would immediately be angry that God has allowed this to happen. They
are some of the most amazing and inspiring people I have ever spoken with, and
I am angry that God has taken their daughter from them. But my anger subsides
when I speak with them. They are broken but not undone, and they are proud of
their daughter. You see, they knew what they were signing up for when they committed
their daughter to the LORD. They understood that they had a choice to make;
they could keep their daughter safe at home and out of danger, or they could
release her to love the world as Christ did. With his whole life. I am grateful
that they chose the latter!
As I have been speaking and weeping with her father, I am
struck by the fact that this is the way our Heavenly Father weeps and groans
for us until we come home. As one father mourns in grief, another Father
rejoices that his daughter is finally home where she was always supposed to be.
