Why, God????
I have been very bothered/saddened this past week, regarding the accidental drowning death of the little 3 yr old girl in Iowa City last Monday. One week ago today. I cannot imagine the grief her parents feel. It has consumed my mind. I don't go very long without thinking about it- and praying for her family.
If you want to read her mother's blog regarding the accident you can find it here:
http://foodhealthlifelove.blogspot.com/2014/07/abby.html?spref=fb
I saw a post asking for prayer for her on Tuesday as she had little to no brain activity. They were asking for a miracle! I prayed all day that God would awaken her mind, show that He CAN heal her little body, and bring life back into her. I learned later that day that she had passed away in the morning. Feeling so very saddened by that news, I switched gears and started praying for her family- that God would just shower comfort and peace upon them. But, I kept thinking. WHY???? God totally could've healed little Abby. He could've awakened her mind, restored her lungs, and repaired any other damage in the blink of an eye. So WHY NOT???? I became a little frustrated. I don't even know them- but was thinking, what if that was us?? Our precious Savannah is 2. Just around a year younger than Abby. I can't fathom the waves of grief that one goes through in losing a child.
A week ago Friday, I rented Kirk Cameron's movie "Unstoppable" from the video store, I didn't know what it was about- but knew it would be good. Each day passed and we didn't have a chance to watch it, and it was due Wednesday. I forgot to take it with me Wednesday to return it, so we still had it- and now a late fee. But Friday we decided to watch it beings we still had it. Once I watched the first 5 minutes- I knew it was a God thing I hadn't watched it until that moment. The whole point of the movie was this: why does God allow pain and suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why doesn't God save the day, when he is completely capable?
Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzKijw7v6AM
A couple of quotes from the movie: God never takes his hand off the wheel. The Lord has used the most horrific and terrible tragedies to accomplish the greatest good for you and me, He’s been doing it since the very beginning.”
“God has a wonderful way of using that which he hates — the bad choices people make, evil and pain and suffering — to steer those things to accomplish what he loves,".
You see- tragedy and heartache have been going on since Eve took a bite out of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve were the first parents to endure the heartache of losing a child, and not just the death of one child, but the fact that their other child caused the death and murdered his brother. We hear these stories so often that we don't think of their feelings and what they went through as much as we should. There is tragedy and suffering all throughout the Bible- sometimes God performed miracles and the pain and suffering were relieved, and sometimes He didn't. But there was purpose in ALL of it. The main quote from the movie that I remember is this: God's purposes are UNSTOPPABLE. Imagine Mary watching in agony as Jesus was beaten and crucified. I am sure she would've loved for it to stop. The turmoil she must have endured watching her son be in such immense physical pain. But there was a purpose and it was Unstoppable!!
Saturday we were driving around near Maxwell, it was a beautiful day- so we decided to stop at a small graveyard and look around. I love looking at the old headstones. Reading the names and dates- wondering what caused the death, and thinking of their family and how long ago it was. Most of the old headstones were infants and children. MOST!! We also noticed that some headstones listed more than one child. They left room at the bottom to add names. Can you imagine seeing the headstone of your baby, with a bunch of space- because you may face more death of your future children? The earliest dates I remember were in the 1820s. There was A LOT of infant and childhood loss back in the day. One in particular we read, the infant son died, 3 days after he was born in June of 1863. Then, it listed an infant daughter that died in July of 1864, the date of death was the same as the date of birth. So they lost 2 babies back to back. Oh the heartache!! We also saw one from 1915- it was for 2 brothers. One brother was about the age of 20, and the other was 8 years old. Their date of death was the same. Makes you wonder- must have been some kind of accident. But my thoughts are with their parents............
Another example of extreme heartache is the story of Horatio Spafford. If you are not familiar with his story, it is absolutely AMAZING!!! You see, we have such grief and heartache because we cannot see the bigger picture. But with Horatio Spafford, from his tragedy was born a song- that has been comforting people for almost 150 years. He has a story of amazing faith!!!! The song he wrote was "It Is Well With My Soul". Here are lyrics- read them well:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain: It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!— My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.
Here is an excellent short video telling his story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3lgJrLhb5Y
I deal with anxiety over my children. Probably a lot of mothers do. Sometimes it is debilitating. Sometimes it causes panic attacks. I am just being transparent here. I know that I must trust God. But I also know that doesn't secure my children's safety or lives, which causes more anxiety. Just because we are trusting and loving God- doesn't mean we will always have the best outcome or the outcome that we hope for. But we can trust that God never takes His hand off the wheel, and we can trust that He ALWAYS has a purpose!!! His purposes are unstoppable. In that, I find great comfort!!
I am still praying for little Abby's family!!! I still wish God would've prevented her death. As He watched her run to the pool, He knew what would happen, yet He didn't stop it. There must be a greater purpose. As her family is overcome with heartache and grief- may they be filled with comfort from the Lord. May each day be easier and may their minds be filled with sweet memories of their precious Abby. Like the last stanza of the song says, And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, and this family will be reunited with their Abby. As will all of us with our loved ones. Haste the day Lord, Haste the day!
If you want to read her mother's blog regarding the accident you can find it here:
http://foodhealthlifelove.blogspot.com/2014/07/abby.html?spref=fb
I saw a post asking for prayer for her on Tuesday as she had little to no brain activity. They were asking for a miracle! I prayed all day that God would awaken her mind, show that He CAN heal her little body, and bring life back into her. I learned later that day that she had passed away in the morning. Feeling so very saddened by that news, I switched gears and started praying for her family- that God would just shower comfort and peace upon them. But, I kept thinking. WHY???? God totally could've healed little Abby. He could've awakened her mind, restored her lungs, and repaired any other damage in the blink of an eye. So WHY NOT???? I became a little frustrated. I don't even know them- but was thinking, what if that was us?? Our precious Savannah is 2. Just around a year younger than Abby. I can't fathom the waves of grief that one goes through in losing a child.
A week ago Friday, I rented Kirk Cameron's movie "Unstoppable" from the video store, I didn't know what it was about- but knew it would be good. Each day passed and we didn't have a chance to watch it, and it was due Wednesday. I forgot to take it with me Wednesday to return it, so we still had it- and now a late fee. But Friday we decided to watch it beings we still had it. Once I watched the first 5 minutes- I knew it was a God thing I hadn't watched it until that moment. The whole point of the movie was this: why does God allow pain and suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why doesn't God save the day, when he is completely capable?
Here is the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzKijw7v6AM
A couple of quotes from the movie: God never takes his hand off the wheel. The Lord has used the most horrific and terrible tragedies to accomplish the greatest good for you and me, He’s been doing it since the very beginning.”
“God has a wonderful way of using that which he hates — the bad choices people make, evil and pain and suffering — to steer those things to accomplish what he loves,".
You see- tragedy and heartache have been going on since Eve took a bite out of the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve were the first parents to endure the heartache of losing a child, and not just the death of one child, but the fact that their other child caused the death and murdered his brother. We hear these stories so often that we don't think of their feelings and what they went through as much as we should. There is tragedy and suffering all throughout the Bible- sometimes God performed miracles and the pain and suffering were relieved, and sometimes He didn't. But there was purpose in ALL of it. The main quote from the movie that I remember is this: God's purposes are UNSTOPPABLE. Imagine Mary watching in agony as Jesus was beaten and crucified. I am sure she would've loved for it to stop. The turmoil she must have endured watching her son be in such immense physical pain. But there was a purpose and it was Unstoppable!!
Saturday we were driving around near Maxwell, it was a beautiful day- so we decided to stop at a small graveyard and look around. I love looking at the old headstones. Reading the names and dates- wondering what caused the death, and thinking of their family and how long ago it was. Most of the old headstones were infants and children. MOST!! We also noticed that some headstones listed more than one child. They left room at the bottom to add names. Can you imagine seeing the headstone of your baby, with a bunch of space- because you may face more death of your future children? The earliest dates I remember were in the 1820s. There was A LOT of infant and childhood loss back in the day. One in particular we read, the infant son died, 3 days after he was born in June of 1863. Then, it listed an infant daughter that died in July of 1864, the date of death was the same as the date of birth. So they lost 2 babies back to back. Oh the heartache!! We also saw one from 1915- it was for 2 brothers. One brother was about the age of 20, and the other was 8 years old. Their date of death was the same. Makes you wonder- must have been some kind of accident. But my thoughts are with their parents............When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain: It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!— My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live: If Jordan above me shall roll, No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.
Here is an excellent short video telling his story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3lgJrLhb5Y
I deal with anxiety over my children. Probably a lot of mothers do. Sometimes it is debilitating. Sometimes it causes panic attacks. I am just being transparent here. I know that I must trust God. But I also know that doesn't secure my children's safety or lives, which causes more anxiety. Just because we are trusting and loving God- doesn't mean we will always have the best outcome or the outcome that we hope for. But we can trust that God never takes His hand off the wheel, and we can trust that He ALWAYS has a purpose!!! His purposes are unstoppable. In that, I find great comfort!!
I am still praying for little Abby's family!!! I still wish God would've prevented her death. As He watched her run to the pool, He knew what would happen, yet He didn't stop it. There must be a greater purpose. As her family is overcome with heartache and grief- may they be filled with comfort from the Lord. May each day be easier and may their minds be filled with sweet memories of their precious Abby. Like the last stanza of the song says, And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, and this family will be reunited with their Abby. As will all of us with our loved ones. Haste the day Lord, Haste the day!
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