But for the Grace of God II

Laura and I attended a funeral today of a good friend. He was 49 and died in a snowmobile related accident. He was a good friend who helped our family with lots of building projects over the years. He was a man of God who took trips to other countries to help others by using his carpentry skills.

We went to the reviewal last night and I was struck by several things. First, Pete lived a full life. Yes it's a cliche,' but it was very evident in the photos they had displayed. He loved his wife and kids and did a LOT of things with them. He loved his work and did a LOT for others. He loved ministry and he did a LOT for others.

Second, as I approached the casket, I was noticing his hands. I looked at his hands and realized how much love he conveyed through the use of his hands. He loved people by building things. He loved his family by building things and doing things with his hands. He loved his friends by doing things with his hands. We were recipients of that love. We have a piece of Pete in our home. He built a bathroom, a bedroom and prepared the elevator shaft. He taught me how to lay out and connect my sprinkler system. Those pieces of Pete are still here even though he now resides in heaven. What a privilege to have those pieces here.

Today at the funeral, we walked in moments before it started. We were ushered to a front row seat because that's all that was open. What an honor to be so close to our friend and his family during these moments. We witnessed tears and laughter, sorrow and joy as we saw them send Pete on to be with Jesus. It was encouraging to witness the anchor that his family had in Jesus Christ. That anchor gave them hope during this very difficult time.


Once again I want to state that I KNOW God is in control, but I certainly don't understand things like this.

Why do I tell you all of this personal stuff? Because once again, I am filled with these overwhelming thoughts regarding life. Why am I so blessed to live today? I'm not more special than my friend. And it's not that I want to die, I don't. I enjoy life. I have a great life. But the thoughts continue to boggle my mind that some die young and some do not. We do NOT get to choose the day we die anymore than we chose the day we were born.

I thank God that He accepted me as His child so many years ago. I thank God that if I die, I will spend eternity with Him. I have no doubt about this. At the very same time, I also experience enormous frustration that my friend's wife is without her husband and his kids are without their dad.

This is a very difficult emotional ride to take and I'm only the friend. I'm not the wife or the kids. Their pain has to be exponentially deeper than mine. Today I grieve the loss of my friend. I grieve for his wife and children. I grieve for all of those who have been touched by Pete and will no longer be able to receive blessings from him.

Even though I grieve, I still hold on to the hope I have in Jesus. That hope tells me that I will see my friend again some day. I am very interested to see what Pete is building in heaven with tools that always work! I am thankful for that hope during this time.

To wrap up this post I ask this question, "Are you ready to die?" Seriously, are you? You do NOT get to choose when you die. Where will you spend eternity if you were taken from this planet tomorrow? As for me, I WILL be with God. I will be in heaven and I will be living in His eternal glory.

I hope you have it figured out. If you don't, ask Jesus to come in and be the Lord of your life. Then you'll have the same guarantee that my friend Pete and I do.

But for the Grace of God

Like many of you, I've been greatly impacted by the devastating news in Haiti these last weeks. Many of the news reports have moved me to tears. I can't begin to imagine the extreme emptiness and hopelessness that many people there must feel during this time. I can't comprehend what it would be like if I had to try and provide for my family in those conditions.

I also end up having a LOT of questions. I know that God is in control and yet it becomes difficult to understand why things like this happen. Like many others, I have feelings of "survivors guilt." I ask why I am so blessed to have what I do when others have had so much taken from them.

Those unanswerable questions could plague me for the rest of my days. They could take away any hope for the future or could even destroy my faith. But the reality is that there will ALWAYS be unanswerable questions. There are just some things that are beyond our understanding. While I try not to merely "sweep them under the rug," I also know that dwelling on them endlessly is vanity.

So I've wrestled through the questions, I've cried my tears and now I want to take some actions to help. First and foremost, I can always pray. There are many people providing support in Haiti and they need our prayers. The victims need our prayers. If there are more survivors not yet found, they need our prayers. Secondly, we were privileged to go to "Feed My Starving Children" one evening with Vicki's Girl Scout troop. We packed food for an hour, but that hour will support many lives. And lastly, there are many, many dollars needed to continue the recovery effort. Now that Haiti is not top news, it will quickly fade into the background of other "hot stories." I urge you to find a tried and true mission organization that can bring both practical needs and hope in God. For us, that will be Samaritan's Purse. They are an amazing group who are well organized and are meeting physical and spiritual needs.

And I've come to a peace knowing that God himself will decide how long I stay on this rock. Until that day, I want to continue to work to serve Him as best as I know how.