Though our family Thanksgiving was a good one, a peppy, glowing and grateful post-Thanksgiving blog just won’t work today. And though today is the anniversary of our son’s life-changing decision to seek treatment for PTSD, a blog about how God has healed and blessed our family won’t work either.
Here’s why.
On the way to the Twin Cities Wednesday, we passed a bad accident only a few miles east of home. “Someone’s Thanksgiving just got ruined,” I said to Hiram before whispering a prayer. After we returned home Saturday, I read about the accident in the paper. One of the men killed was from our town. He was only 54 and left behind a wife and three young adult children.
The day after Thanksgiving, I opened an email from my friend Scott. He and his family are featured in A Different Dream for My Child. Their youngest son Evan, who has been fragile since his birth seven years ago, passed away early Friday morning. Evan leaves behind his parents and a brother who is 11.
On Sunday one of my dearest friends described her difficult weekend. Without divulging details, I can tell you this particular Thanksgiving will not make it onto her Holiday Hit Parade. For months and years we’ve asked God to ease her pain and loneliness, to make His love and delight in her faithfulness real to her. As far as I can see, He’s not doing much.
In the face of such tragedy and suffering, I want to shake my fist at God. I want to say is, “No more pain, please! Make it stop!” I want to ask, “Why, God? Why do these people have to suffer?” I want to wrap my arms around them and take away their pain.
But in my own dark days, I learned that the best any of those things could do was bring temporary relief. The only thing eased the pain was considering the character of the God who saw me shake my fist and heard my questions – the God who didn’t condemn me or minimize my pain. Instead He gently revealed His understanding of it, as only a parent who lost a child can do.
So God, would you reveal to these hurting people what you revealed to me? Would you do it now, today, immediately, in their hour of need? And would you continue to do it every day until they can live with their losses? Would you ease their pain, God? Please?
