Sometimes, life is crazy. It's sad, it's confusing, and it's just hard to take in. This week, we lost Charles, a friend, coworker, and brother in Christ in a tragic, horribly improbable car accident. No one saw it coming, and perhaps that's why we're all reeling from the shock. Some things are just, well, you don't think it happens in real life. It just feels like a terrible dream that is almost over. That he'll walk into the room as if nothing ever happened. My brain, no the facts, tell me that it will never happen in this world. This world is broken and we all acknowledge that, but most of the time, it just doesn't hit you straight up in your face. Yesterday felt like an eternity - and I can't even claim to have been super close friends with him. My heart goes out to all those who were. I have no words and I can't begin to imagine just how hard it must be for them.
I was telling another coworker today about the hope that we have for the future, that eventually we will be reunited with the ones we love and lose - because of the work that Christ has done on our behalf. Yet, I was also real about the fact that the hope doesn't mean that we feel no loss and we feel no pain. Those are present, and as the shock wears off, we will likely begin to feel those emotions far more keenly. It's a broken world that we live in, and it's a broken community that is coming together to join in supporting each other, crying out to a perfect Savior who gives them hope and comfort. Please pray for healing and comfort for the family, friends, and broader community who are grieving this week.
As we attempt to pick up and carry on, pray that we will also be sensitive to opportunities to share our faith with others. It weighs heavily on my heart that there are so many people out there (even sitting at desks right next to me) who have no certainty about life after death and for whom today could be their last day. Pray that in our daily lives, we would remember that there is more to this life than the tasks at work. Pray that we would prioritize investing in the lives of those around us, taking each opportunity as if it is the last. Please pray that we would live each day as if it were indeed our last.
