“Good morning,” she texted yesterday.
“A little tired today,” she continued. “Heartbroken for the families and community in Uvalde, Texas. Thinking about people like Steve (my husband, a chaplain) who are there – and everywhere – comforting families and friends reconciling loss, preparing words for services, walking in for visits.”
“This morning I am deep into Kate Bowler’s outstanding book _No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear),” my friend explained. “There is a remarkable friend/colleague in the book, a bishop in Durham, at Duke, who she calls ‘Pastor Jeff.’ There is a paragraph she writes in a chapter called ‘Apocalyptic Time.’ It could be taken out of context, but instead I saw it as so real, so raw, so courageous for him to feel this way in a time of heartbroken loss. I will send you a photo of the paragraph.”
“I think God welcomes us to wonder and push back when sad, tragic, apocalyptic things happen, like yesterday, like the loss of a friend or a child,” she mused in her text. “I see this as great faith, as it represents a deep trust in relationship with God.”
“I stopped reading there this morning,” she concluded her text. “It was ‘enough’ and gave me much to think about in the shadow of Uvalde’s tragedy.”
As promised, she sent me a photo of the paragraph that had given her prayerful food for thought.
Sometimes we are blinking back tears when we lie down beside our own children. Sometimes we take a deep breath and steady ourselves as we walk out and face grieving people. Sometimes the only thing to do is pause, to look up to the sky, and to hiss the hurt that fills our heart.
“Profound,” I texted back. “We can’t understand such ugly tragedy. We are not God. I, for one, am really glad not to be … but … that leaves us powerless, vulnerable, completely dependent on the God who is God. This One in charge promises, ‘I am making everything new’ … but … our movement toward this newness feels so slow and incomprehensible. We are left railing against this anguish with God until our tiredness is transformed, until we begin to see with God’s eternal eyes, to feel with God’s compassionate heart, and to love with God’s everlasting love.”
I heard a loud voice shout from the throne:
God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.
Then the one sitting on the throne said:
I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty (Revelation 21:3-6, CEV).
Many of us are tired and thirsty. We are thirsty for a real relationship with the God who is making all things new.
…Sue…
