Today is a day to remember but it’s not an anniversary most people would enjoy remembering. One year ago today a friend and I witnessed a car crash that killed a young mother and left her then-five-year-old daughter with serious and lifelong brain injuries. I expect that today her parents, husband, children, other family members, and friends are remembering the day that changed their lives so dramatically.
When I went to find scriptures to pray over them, my first thought was the Beatitude from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:4 in the NIV says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Pretty straight forward: if you mourn, you will be comforted. The Phillips translation says it this way: “How happy are those who know what sorrow means for they will be given courage and comfort!” I’m not sure that most people who “know what sorrow means” would be able to say they are “happy,” but I’m sure the promise of God’s courage and comfort helps them. The Message translation, though, comforts, saying, “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” When in life we feel we’ve lost what is most dear to us, the One who is most dear to us embraces us.
I don’t think anyone can walk through life without meeting grief in many ways. This is a part of our fallen world. Yet, we are told in Revelation that there will be a day with no more grief because we are with God and God is with his people. “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 NIV) Sounds great, huh? When we get to heaven there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. Hallelujah!
In the meantime…we’re still here on earth. The broken, bent planet whose inhabitants still struggle with grief and death. That’s why Emmanuel, God with Us, revealed himself to the world some 2000 years ago. That’s why Jesus, “Gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8 NLT). We are not alone, not forgotten in our grief, not lost in a sea of sorrow when we turn to Emmanuel. God is with us, just as he has been with the family who lost so much one year ago.
“This is what it means to be held
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell, we’d be held” *
So today I remember and I pray for that family. Perhaps you are in a space where you, too, pray for someone who grieves or you yourself are grieving. Today may we remember that our God is with us.
Emmanuel,
Thank you for the gift of remembering. Thank you for the memories we have of people we love, places and events who have impacted us, and all your blessings and gifts you have showered upon us. Thank you for being our fortress, the Lord Almighty who is here among us, and our ever-present help in our struggles. Thank you for your presence when we are in a season of unending shadows of death’s darkness. Thank you that because you are with us in those dark moments, near with your protection and guidance, we are not overcome with fear because we are comforted. Today we pray for the family and friends of this young woman who lost her life a year ago today. We pray that even as they remember this very difficult and abrupt change of their lives, your comfort and peace and presence would be very near them. Hold this husband, the children, and her parents in your arms of love. May they remember with joy the daughter, wife, and mother they loved and know great comfort and strength because she is safe in the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Provide for, protect, and bless those who grieve, we pray in Jesus’s name, Amen.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46: 1, 11 NIV)
“Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in those dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted.” (Psalm 23:4 VOICE)
* “Held” recorded by Natalie Grant, written by Christa Wells © 2001 Cinco Ninos Publishing (Admin. by Curb Music Publishing) Curb Songs (Admin. by Curb Music Publishing) Weimarhymes Publishing, Inc. (Admin. by Curb Music Publishing)