Psalm 90:16-17
Do wonderful things for us, your servants, and show your mighty power to our children. Our Lord and our God, treat us with kindness and let all go well for us. Please let all go well!
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
You may have heard the story of Will Norton, a teenager who graduated from Joplin High School on Sunday afternoon, May 22nd, then headed home with his dad. As Will drove, the EF-5 tornado struck, and he and his dad were picked up in their SUV and swirled and tossed violently around in the air. Will’s dad clung desperately to him as the tornado literally pulled him through the vehicle’s sunroof. Will’s dad was badly injured and was taken to a Joplin hospital. Will was nowhere to be found.
For days, hundreds of volunteers, family members and friends searched the rubble of Joplin for Will Norton. Hospitals as far away as Kansas City, Tulsa, and Hot Springs, Arkansas, were queried to see if perhaps Will had been taken there. And on Friday night, May 27th, Will’s body was found in Joplin – in a pond. He had not survived.
Will’s dad reported that as the tornado pulled him from the SUV, he continually quoted scripture verses. His Aunt Tracey posted on a Facebook page, “…another night, but now one with the peace of knowing where Will is. Sadness in my heart for those that have lost so much. May God guide them to peace.” Earlier in the week, Will’s Aunt Tracey had been interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and while on camera, she turned to comfort Will’s sister, saying, “We’ll be okay, baby… we’ll be okay.” And while their hearts are broken and they are devastated by the loss of this young man… who from all accounts was a pretty amazing kid… their prayer has been answered… and all has gone [relatively] well.
This family, like many who have endured suffering and anguish because of the tornado, knows the love and kindness of total strangers who have come from all parts of the country – just to help. They know the prayers of people from around the world that God would lead them to their loved one – dead or alive – and give them peace and some sense of closure. They know that, in the days ahead, God will send people to minister to them – and they will in turn minister to others out of their grief… and all will be well.
Do you have this peace and comfort? Do you feel the power and presence of God in your life in such a way that you know that… no matter what is hurled your way… all will go well? Can you claim, with confidence, that even if a tornado sucked you into the air and through the sunroof, you would be at peace… maybe even have the ability to quote the word of God as you rose to meet Him? As Christians, we need to know God in such a way that we are fully confident that all will go well, regardless of our situation. We must strive to develop the kind of relationship that gives us the continual “peace that passes all understanding.”
I’m sure that in the days to come, many will look at Will Norton’s family and question how and why they can appear so peaceful in the midst of such a horrific tragedy. I’m sure some will question their grieving process and how they can possibly think that all is going well. And I am equally sure they have their private moments when all is anything but well in their world. However, they understand that God is using this tragedy for His glory… and He has not even begun to show them all the ways that He can bring good out of such an ugly, devastating event.
For now, these families who are enduring this destruction with such dignity are my new heroes. They truly are living the faith that with God, all is going well… and I want to be just like them… don’t you?
©2011 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment