When Life is Hard where do you Turn…?

 Right Lane Must Turn Right

No Right Turn...?

Originally, I liked this photo because I thought it was funny… are we allowed to turn right here or not?  But this past month has been very heavy for me and other people I am close to.  Life is not always easy.  Life is not always straight forward. We don’t always have all the answers.  Sometimes it is confusing… Should we turn right?  Do we need to go straight?  What should we do in this situation??? The One thing I do know is that in the midst of all the pain and confusion, my hope has been in the One that has not let me down… Jesus.  He has been my peace and comfort through all the trials… the last couple months, and all my life… and I know He will walk with me through anything that comes my way.

I know that I wrote about the loss of two people in March that were part of my church community.  Shortly after that one of my best friends growing up, lost her father and mother in-law in a tragic car accident and then a month later her father.  Even with her living so far away it hit me hard about how easy it is to lose loved ones in the blink of an eye. 

Since then, I have been surrounded by the loss of multiple people I personally know or someone that impacted a friend.  Most of these deaths I have found out about this week (even though some occurred a couple weeks ago).

One of my former youth lost their lives in car accidents a couple weeks ago but I just found out this week.  Natasha was on her way to start a new job at Washington State University. She just graduated with her Masters.  She had her whole life in front of her.  Her father Mark also died in the accident. 

There was another accident that took the life of a 12-year-old boy in the community.  He was hit by a 19-year-old who had been drinking.  A 19-year-old young man whose life is forever altered because of a decision to get behind the wheel after drinking. Two families that will never be the same. I can’t imagine what the family of the 12-year-old boy is going through as they grieve the loss of their son, but I also can’t imagine the pain of the 19-year-old boys family. He is the same age as some of my nieces and nephews and I praise God that for the decisions that they have made in their life that have kept them from making the same decision as this young man.  We are all one decision away from walking a path that could forever alter our life. 

One of the deaths that impacted me the most was that of my friend’s husband.  Early on June 26^th, we received a message to pray because he did not return from his hike on time.  Shortly after that we found out that he had fallen the day before and they didn’t think he had made it. Come to find out it took his friend 12 hours to hike out alone to get help.  It didn’t take long for the rescue crew to find his body and determine that he didn’t survive the fall.  My friend Emily was left a widow to raise her three young children.  Her life has forever been changed with no time to prepare.  Many tears have been shed and prayers lifted up for this family as they grieve the loss of Brian.    

Another friend moved down to Texas at the end of June to be closer to her father-in-law before he passed away. Unfortunately, he passed away mid-July and couldn’t make it long enough to see the birth of his grandbaby.  Finally, a motorcycle accident took the life of the teacher and mentor of a good friend’s son.  While I didn’t know these two individuals, they have families that love them… their life mattered… and it impacted people who matter to me.

So much loss in such a short period of time… and I know that is not even the half of it.  So many other people die every day.  Life is fragile.  We are not promised tomorrow.  All we can do is make the most of today and as far as it depends on us live at peace with everyone.  Lately, I have been a lot better about not letting things that other people do bother me.  I am learning to see them as God does.  I recognize that I am a sinner that needs grace and need to extend that same grace to others.  I am also praying more for loved ones that need-to-know Jesus… this is an area that can always use work because it is an area of life of death that has eternal value.