Today is a rainy, dreary day in East TN, and I don't mean just because of the gloomy weather. All day long my heart has been heavy with the knowledge of a tragedy that struck our community. This prompted me to think of all of the other unhappy happenings going on around me...
There is a a child custody case hanging overhead threatening to unravel the stability of a child with the intent not being for the betterment of the child, but to satisfy the selfishness of the non-custodial parent...a close friend who is mourning the loss of a best friend to a terrible disease...another dear friend who desperately wants to be a mom, but finds every pregnancy end in miscarriage...a mother who mourns not only the sudden loss of one child, but the loss of her only two children, and friends (my son included) who mourn the loss of their beloved friends...none of this makes sense, and we ask, "where is God?"
The Bible tells us to, "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion," Romans 12:15-16.
In any of the circumstances we can form our own opinions, we can judge, we can be critical, we can say how we would, or it should be handled, but the truth is, that is not what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to lift one another up, show grace and mercy, show love. I cannot imagine what my friend who finds her self childless feels, I cannot imagine the nightmare that this mother, who I only know as the mom of one of my son's friends, is living...if we cannot count on each other for stability and comfort in our most desperate times, then we have failed as a church. If those who are hurting cannot come to us then we learned nothing from the life Jesus exemplified.
