There have been a few times in my life when an event has significantly impacted me. I think of the day I graduated from nursing school. The day I got married. The days I had my children. But impactful things don’t happen quite so often anymore. I’m past the days of graduating, marrying, and having children. However, I was blessed with yet another impactful event last week.
This event, I’m sad to say, was born out of tragedy.
A young couple and their two young sons were traveling eastbound on the interstate near Mitchell, SD. A truck pulling a trailer was traveling westbound on the same interstate. As the two vehicles passed each other, a tire came off the trailer, no doubt rolling at incredible speed across the median before striking the family’s vehicle. The father and their three-year-old son were killed. The mother sustained a broken jaw and was taken into surgery. Their one-year-old son suffered minor injuries, and the unborn baby was declared okay.
The mother’s parents attend our church. A text message from our pastor went out to the congregation asking for prayers for the family. Oh…how we grieved for this family! The young mother immediately became known to all of us, and our hearts went out to her. She was now a young widow, with one less child to hold and no husband by her side to share her grief. How unfair and unjustifiable life can be at times.
Why, God? Why allow this to happen to a young man who made his living preaching the Good News? Why take two lives from this one family and leave the rest to mourn? We don’t understand, Lord. We had so many questions and no answers. No answers, that is, until this courageous young widow shared her deepest thoughts.
The service was held in Minnesota, where the young couple resided. It was livestreamed and watched by many in our church and community. We watched in awe as she made her way to the podium and began speaking. More questions came to mind. How did she find the strength—spiritually, emotionally, and physically—to do this? For twenty minutes, she spoke clearly through her wired jaw about the sovereignty of God.
“The two truths carrying me through this awful nightmare is the meticulous sovereignty of an all sovereign wise and good God and knowing that all things happen according to the counsel of God’s will. Not a single molecule in this universe is outside of Jesus’s control. If God is not sovereign totally over this car accident, I am left with the alternative…despair. If God is not sovereign, then Satan has some kind of awful power in the world that my God couldn’t do anything about. …There is no comfort in that. My comfort comes from knowing that I have an all wise and sovereign loving Father who is good who not only knew what would happen that day but allowed it for His good purposes.”
Her talk may have impacted each of us differently, but I can almost guarantee it touched every one of us in some way. For me, it gave me courage to face whatever life may bring. If I were to lose a child or grandchild, or experience any other tragedy, I know my mind would go directly back to hearing this young mother’s voice. Hopefully, my thoughts would be: If she could believe in the sovereignty of God and trust Him with the rest of her life, then so can I.
Until next time…rest in the thought that God is in total control. Even though we may not know the “whys,” He does, and He uses them to fulfill His great purposes.
Keep on readin’, and I’ll keep on writin’.