My friend Sarah lost her son, Kelly at 2 a.m. this morning. Not a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day. There is a measure of comfort in knowing that he was a believer and is now in heaven. At 40 years old, he had just started a new job a few months ago, and was a newlywed of only 2 months. He suffered 3rd degree burns over 70% of his body in the Dixie Crystals plant explosion last week.
I cannot imagine losing my son. I have my daughters and my step-children, but Eddie is my ONLY son. There are times when I'm reading my Bible and meditating on God's sacrifice of his only Son, or of Abraham's willingness to give up his cherished son, and my simple human mind finds it hard to grasp.
My son, while not walking in the path of righteousness, is still a joy to me. We have had our ups & downs, especially through his early teens, but we are closer now than we have ever been. He has never been ashamed to say he loves me or show affection, even in front of his friends. He's quite handsome and charming, is blessed with a good sense of humor, possesses tremendous creative artistic talent, and uses his manners (at least when he's around me and my family). I cannot imagine my life without him, even though he lives in another state.
I know I would lay down my life for any of my children (including my steps), but to permanently give them up on purpose? I like to think that if God asked me to make that sacrifice, I would have the faith to do as He asks. It's hard enough to step aside when they are in trouble after I've asked God to do what He must in order to bring them to Him.
My heart goes out to Sarah, as well as her new daughter-in-law, her other children, and everyone else who lost Kelly as a vital part of their lives. My thoughts are with them as they grieve, and I pray that they will have the strength to cope with their loss. Perhaps they will even be able to celebrate that Kelly is now with our heavenly Father. Nothing happens without cause, and it is my hope that through this tragedy someone will come to know Christ, or come back to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment