4
0
The corner turned. As soon as the turkey was all put away, and the Bengals upset the Ravens, the Christmas season officially started. The debates on if Christmas decorations should adorn the house came to a close as Black Friday ushered itself in with a loud Christmas crash.
Advent is here and it came with cold weather and snow. What a glorious time of year! However, I spent some time reflecting on this past holiday and have struggled making sense of it all. As I thought about this wonderful time spent with family, I was conflicted, as members of my extended family suffered extreme loss, while others rejoiced with answered prayer. How do these both reconcile with each other during a time of giving thanks?
I have spent several days going over this, praying about this, and honestly, just being stuck with what to write. Then the Lord hit me with a line from a Puritan prayer I heard read at church. “For my heart rests in Thee more than the thing I seek from Thee.” I can’t reconcile those things because I’m not God. I don’t have the answers and probably never will. His ways are His ways, but I can see God in both situations that have happened this past Thanksgiving and although both made me cry, they have taught me some things worth sharing.
Loss
Losing someone is gut wrenching. Our emotions take control and each person grieves in their own way. The tragic illness and loss of a young lady in our family brought much emotion around this holiday. However, it also brought the example of a strength and peace that I myself don’t know that I could give as a father if our roles were reversed.
Strength, from a father championing a daughter whose life ended so much sooner than anyone who knew her would have hoped. Peace, as this man brought a strength and a light to the people around him because he knew his daughter was in a better place. He continued to show this Godly resilience by rejoicing that his daughter knew the Lord and was a light to so many people in the time she spent on this earth.
At church this week, the pastor used a line that stuck with me. “Never forget in the dark what you knew to be true in the light.” I have had times that I have forgotten the truth when it was dark, as I’m sure many of you have. What I witnessed on the day after Thanksgiving was a father who just refused to forget what he knew to be true in the light no matter the darkness going on around him. A man who was thankful for his daughter, for the time he spent with her. A man who continued to be the light his daughter was for so many.
Will I ever understand this situation and why it happened at this time right around the holiday? No, I won’t, but I will embrace the example the Lord sent to all of us who witnessed a father living out in the dark what he knew to be true in the light.
Gain
As I said, there were two things that caused this turmoil of reconciliation inside of me. This one is much easier to talk about, but also has a message that can’t be overlooked.
As Thanksgiving morning was winding down and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was just about over, my phone rang. As I answered it and listened to the voice on the other end, I began to cry. These tears had nothing to do with loss, but rather a miracle.
Someone else in my family was on the list for a kidney transplant. Her chances of finding a match were very low, single digit percentage. However, on Thanksgiving morning she received a call that they had found a kidney for her. The tears I cried were tears of joy, tears of a thankful heart for what God was doing.
For her, “Black Friday” wasn’t dark at all. It was full of light, as she boarded a plane and headed for Boston for a surgery that was soon to come. Truly, a Thanksgiving miracle was in the works as God showed everyone involved that He is still in the business of answering prayers.
Why does God seem to answer some prayers and not others? Again, the answer to that question is something I don’t feel I will ever know on either side of eternity. But what I do know is that through both of these events, God was present. He showed His power through a father and the example he set for so many, and He showed His power through a miraculous match that really looked at times like it would never happen.
God was there. He was there through the tears of pain and the tears of rejoicing. What I learned from this Thanksgiving is to cling to Him, no matter the situation. He is our hope in all things and always will be. He will be with me no matter what, I just have to choose to rest in Him, not in what I seek from Him. Until next time…
Noah, I think you were talking about Kayleigh, correct? I put her folks on our prayer chain at my church. Please let me know when arrangements are made. Take care of yourself!!
Love, Mary
I was not. The girl’s name was Ella.
What an amazing reminder of the true grace of our Lord. He gives peace that is hard to understand or explain. Losing a child, at any age, has to be the hardest thing any person can endure. Thank you for the beautiful depicture of that sweet father. Oh how amazing her parents are to grieve with those who knew her and rejoice at her celebrating going home to Jesus. Thank you for sharing your amazing insights with us all. I pray you and your sweet family know what an impact you all make on all of us. Keep shining God’s light. As you have shared, He still answers prayers. Even in great loss, we have seen firsthand miracles that never would have occurred without going through that journey. Please remember that You and your amazing family are that bright light. Never gift up bringing His message. You are all loved!
Angela, you are so kind. Thank you for your words.
Thanks Noah – great job. I had never heard either of those quotes before but found them both very meaningful.
Thanks Butch! It means a lot!
The Lord says rejoice and be glad. We are rejoicing with you for a God who is always with us.
Thank you!