I write to-day in sadness: Over the past 12 days some lovely friends of ours have endured the most excruciating of all hardships - the sudden loss of one of their dearly beloved children. Sam Riddall, their 11 year old son was killed in a hit and run accident as he left our church youth club. It is a tragic incident that has touched many lives worldwide, not least those from our church who witnessed and became involved in the trauma after leaving a prayer meeting.
Yet how do we respond to such tragedy as Christians? Well our pastor made a very good response on Radio 2 in the Jeremy Vine show on Friday which you can listen to here (the interview is in the 2nd half hour of the show) and I guess many others will have their own different and individual responses to it.
At the moment my response is deep sadness. I feel very sad for Martin and Rachel, that they have to go through this and also for Sam's brothers - what a pain to endure. If you know me you will know that I almost lost my own daughter when she was 10 weeks old and that I lost two other babies in early pregnancy, so I know a little of their pain. Yet I am sure theirs is much greater than mine: This is a child they have nurtured and loved for 11 years, held deep hopes and dreams for and now suddenly he has gone. All I can say is that I am thinking and praying for them constantly. It is my plea that they will by-pass some of my own reaction to loss and trauma; the deep depression, anxiety, anger and emptiness that threatens to crush all that is left behind.
So how can we make sense of these awful situations? My simple answer is we can't but the challenge we have been given as Christians is to trust God who can. Personally I am not interested anymore in trying to find a reason for everything as I have found that too belittling. I don't imagine God saying prior to suffering "right let's test their faith with this trauma" moreover I imagine Him saying "I am So sorry you have been so badly hurt, let me see what I can redeem from the agony of living in a fallen, broken world."
1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us that now we see things imperfectly but when we meet God we will see them with perfect clarity and I am now willing to accept that (it took some time). After all why waste time trying to see things in full when they are incomplete? Personally I think there is enough in the challenge to trust God, as we view our cloudy earthly image, whilst clinging to the hope that one day - the mist will lift.
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