WHEN SUDDEN DEATH CALLS

A young man died this weekend in a skiing accident in Colorado. He was a gifted, good kid who had worked hard to make something of himself.

Jack dreamed of flying airplanes and serving his country and he was on his way to achieving those goals as a student at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He was one of those rare young men who had made the cut, securing a coveted spot in the prestigious and highly respected military academy.

Naturally Jack's parents and younger brother are devastated. They are reeling from their sudden loss and the excruciating pain that feels like acid to the soul. They already know this pain.

Just four years ago their newborn baby died suddenly of cardiac arrest right before their very eyes. His precious life ended as abruptly as his brother Jack’s. There was no warning, no goodbye, nothing to indicate impending doom. And no one could ever have imagined that this family would find themselves in this place of death so soon.

I don’t know why this happened and I won’t begin to minimize their tragedy with an assessment of God’s purpose and plan for their lives. I will pray and I will ask God to let them know in a powerful way that he is with them, that he is carrying their cross to the foot of Calvary where he has ransomed their pain and their suffering.

The place where hope hangs it’s weary head because that is where God revealed his promise to redeem even the most tragic set of circumstances; the place where one day all that feels so very wrong-will one day feel alright.

And I will urge the Blessed Mother to wrap her mantel of protection around their bleeding hearts because who knows better than she, this kind of searing grief?!

And finally, through my own tears of sadness-I will hug my sons a little tighter tonight…in gratitude for the time we have together and for the continued blessing of their young lives.

Matthew 25:13 “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”