Good morning…
When tragedy steals life, I feel drawn to lean in, to reach out, to lift prayers, so I emailed an old friend whose son goes to The University of South Carolina. Over our string of emails, these phrases stood out.
She wrote, “Sadly it’s true.”
“It’s been a difficult and devastating week for the boys…a lot to handle, to think twice.”
“He was so close to them.”
“They will be traveling home for the funeral on Saturday.”
“He was a college sophomore from Roswell.”
“Nobody, family included, had a single clue that anything was up with him.”
I responded, “Wow. Just a year younger than our Adrianna.”
“I cannot imagine the excruciating pain of these parents.”
“I just talked with Adri today.”
“She called as she walked between classes at UGA.”
“It is so hard to envision not talking with her again until we hug in heaven.”
We will travel to Virginia today, as Steve performs a wedding for a young man we have loved for years, but part of my heart will be in Roswell at a funeral for a young man I have never met. Both services will be filled with the intimate bond of family and friends, harnessing the power of God’s unconditional love. As we ponder deeper levels of union, some may wonder: Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?
Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
…No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 37-39, NLT).
Thanks be to the God of endless love, can separate us. Nothing.
…Sue…
