A River of Tears

How do we make sense of the senseless?

Sometimes… like now… we simply can’t.

I could write volumes about the “whys” and “hows” of the deadly flash flood in Texas but really, that isn’t the point. I could highlight the fact that God told us (at the very beginning) to take care of this precious planet, and we haven’t. Or I could mention the element of human error that undoubtedly affects any and every policy, system and service worldwide. From the top, down through the ranks.

But I won’t go there right now. Because if I did, I’d be accused of politicizing or polarizing or pontificating.

No thanks.

Right now is a time to mourn and weep and pray. There’s a reason God devoted a whole book in his Word to… Lamentations. Here’s a little excerpt:

I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken, my spirit poured out, as I see what has happened… ~ Lamentations 2:11 (TLB)

I can’t begin to fathom the anguish of mothers and fathers receiving their children’s battered, lifeless little bodies… Their disconsolate attempts to piece together the nightmare of their children’s last minutes… A good-tired-at-the-end-of-a-summer-camp-day slumber shattered by a catastrophic storm. The echo of their cries… their clutching… their fear… and the force of the flood.

How could a good God allow such a thing? It’s unthinkable.

The simple answer to the question hanging in the air right now is…

I don’t know.

But I do know this.

Jesus wept.

God isn’t passive or stoic or distant. He comes near, crouches low, looks into the freshly dug grave… and into the anguished eyes of the grieving.

He sees. He knows. He empathizes, agonizes, embraces, consoles. And somehow, someday, He will make it better.

Better than better.

New.

I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea.  Then I saw New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

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. ~ Revelation 21:1-5 (CEV)

Despite popular/modern/twisted theology, Jesus didn’t promise health, wealth and prosperity on this planet. Or a free pass from storms and suffering, sickness and strife. If he had, he’d have been proven a liar a long time ago. A perverse one at that.

Instead, he promised his presence. In every season. In every storm. In the hardest, darkest, bleakest, bloodiest places. At summer camps and music festivals. In prisons and ERs and slums. At aid distribution sites… and gravesites.  He groans and grieves with us. He is near.

And one day, He will put an end to disasters and terror and horror and hate.

Joy to the world… the LORD will come again. And he will start fresh.

Death will die. And we will be – fully, forever – safe and sound.

There will be peace.

Love will win.

And we will live happily ever after.

Really.

But until then, we weep and pray, comfort and care, love and serve and give.

We pull together in times of trouble.

We step up… and step in… when we can.

And show a little appreciation for others who do. The first responders… The real heroes.

Look for the helpers, Mr. Rogers said.

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.

God bless them, every one.

Look for the helpers, friends.

Or better yet, be one.

Wendy

P.S. If you’d like to help with relief efforts, you can donate here: American Red Cross, Kerr County Relief Fund, Salvation Army Kerrville, World Central Kitchen.