Tragedy and Triumph

I live in a very small town, only 7,000 in my whole county. Today, our community suffered a great tragedy. A van carrying a family of 12 passengers, traveling to celebrate a wedding, was hit by a semi. Ten of the twelve passengers, one a baby just a few months old, are dead. The only survivors, two little boys, now will grow up without their parents. The driver of the semi was killed as well, and somewhere in Alabama his family is mourning him too.

The family was part of the Mennonite community. All morning long I've been looking at my son and tearing up. I cannot begin to imagine the depth of loss that will be felt by those boys, and by everyone in their close community.

So much loss that seems, to us, so senseless. All I can say, and what I have been saying all morning, is that none of this took God by surprise. He knew it was coming, and therefore, He has already prepared a way.

There will be people who misread what I am trying to say. If God knew this was going to happen then why didn't He stop it, right? We live in a world where everyone makes choices and those choices affect us and everyone around us. I do not, and probably never will, know why so many tragic things happen. What I do know...what I know beyond any fear or doubt that might try to assail me, is that God remains in control, despite where any human choices lead.

As I prepare to celebrate with my family the death and resurrection, the sacrifice and victory, of my Savior, I rejoice for these who are now in His presence. I await His promise to turn all things to good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Look at this picture of me and my baby...so many moments like this that I take for granted...when I look at my son and my eyes fill with tears, imagining two little boys who have lost both mother and father, I remember that no one ever could or will love them more than God, our heavenly Father.

Thanks for reading my ramblings...please remember to pray for the community of those killed this morning. Please pray for their two small boys, and please pray that our community at large will know how to reach out to them, and how to support them.

God is sovereign. God is faithful. We are His hands and feet...

What Is Greatness?

In C.S. Lewis book The Great Divorce there is a scene that has affected me and inspired me ever since I read it, probably over ten years ago now.

A man is sitting quietly with his mentor at the base of a mountain which is meant to signify Heaven. As they sit a glorious procession begins. Pomp and circumstance and celebration surround the arrival of a single woman. The man struggles to see her and then asks his mentor who the jubilation honors.

His teacher replies that she is no one the man ever will have heard of but the young man insists that surely she is famous for no where else has he seen such ado about a single soul.

His teacher then explains that she was no one to others on earth, while she lived, a poor widowed woman living in a humble home. But she always had room for those in need of shelter and she always had food to share with the hungry. She faithfully served others, living her life as God's hand and feet. Though on earth her life seemed unremarkable, in Heaven she received the greatest honor one can boast.

What do You want from me, Lord? Where should I go from here?

I want to make a difference for Your kingdom. I want to BE who You desire me to be.

Show me the path of my life, Lord. Help me to stop being so self-seeking and self-serving. Teach me to love and serve. I don't need to be great but I do have a deep need to do great things. I need to do Your will, follow Your ways, be Your hands and feet. What could be greater than that?

I need to stop desiring greatness and instead, become great.

"...but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant." Luke 22:26