Here Am I, and the Children God Has Given Me...

…even if He does take them away temporarily. Part 3

We left Texas July 20 after living six weeks with Judy’s mom. Saying good-bye to Judy's mom never gets any easier, especially since she's 80. Yet she remains in excellent health and spirits, and her love for the LORD expressed in plain-spoken common sense-wisdom continues to amaze me.

One of the reasons that momma’s faith in Christ is so strong is because she has had to weather a number of storms in her life, especially the death by suicide of her son and Judy’s brother Roy. Momma told me after I married Judy, “The hardest thing in life is to have to bury your child, no matter what age you are.” Years later, I asked her what God did to enable her to cope with Roy’s death. In essence, she said that she felt that God spoke to her some months after Roy died, letting her know that he was ok.

We visited the second North Highlands Bible Church family on July 12. Sarah, their articulate adult daughter introduced herself, then introduced her two daughters. She added, “We also had a third daughter, Audrey, but she is no longer with us.” Two- year old Audrey was killed in an accident, when a repair truck backed over her while leaving the driveway. Sarah had not realized that Audrey had run out the door, and the driver did not realize that she was behind his vehicle. Audrey died some 20 months ago.

When someone shares their grief that openly, you don’t know whether to duck, run for cover, or dive in. Changing the subject looked like a good option especially with someone with whom I had just met. Yet while I will never understand this kind of tragedy or grief, Momma’s perspective on Roy’s death has helped me. So armed with Momma’s wisdom, I dived in.

Dr Ken Quick of the Capital Bible Seminary, Lanham MD once stated 90 percent of all couples who lose a small child to death wind up getting a divorce. Bryan and Sarah have been able to weather this tremendous storm so far and they now look to share publicly with others how to cope with such a tragedy.

As we talked, her mom showed us a DVD of Audrey singing “Jesus Loves Me” with enthusiasm, singing her heart out for our LORD. (Hang on, even now I can’t seem to keep typing, and my throat is getting tight). She sang that song TWO DAYS before she died. Both mom and grandma said that Audrey’s song was preparing her to see Jesus.

The other touching scene that God gave me was of their two daughters, one seven, the other six. Both girls played together like normal girls. I have heard that if the parents do not properly cope with the loss of a child, the children will reflect that with bad behavior. One child responded to his little brother’s death by urinating in the house.

That day NHBC allowed us to get to know some real heroes.

While Bryan and Sarah would not agree with the last statement, still…in giving us permission to share this post, Sarah writes, “There is certainly nothing heroic about the way Bryan and I or our family and friends have handled this loss. The thing I have taken away from it all is that God’s grace is absolutely sufficient to meet all of our needs when they arise, whatever they are, no matter how painful. And, the promise of Heaven has captured my heart like never before and has taken root in my life. It is this hope that now fuels my passion for telling others about Jesus and for living each day with strength in the face of great pain…and we continue to face other pain…God has not spared us of dealing with life’s other struggles, too!

You see, I think many Christians live knowing and believing and standing on only half of the truth: that Jesus was born, lived a perfect life, and died for our sins. While we need to focus on his sacrificial atonement, we will miss God’s big picture perspective if we do not finish the story. Jesus AROSE, and we too will be resurrected when Christ returns to rescue us once and for all. His other promises have been fulfilled, and we can count on this one as well! With the full picture, we can live in real victory, no matter what we face here on earth. We await perfect bodies in a perfect world without sin and death…the physical and spiritual realms as God intended them to be.

Now, that is something to get excited about!”

"O death, where is thy victory, o grave where is thy sting?"