Not Yet

Last week a young couple at church lost their five day old baby. The baby was so precious, but had some health problems that could not sustain life. So on his fifth day, I sat with his parents and we cried as he breathed his last.

Let me confess that I felt totally inadequate at trying to offer comfort. What words can one offer to a mother holding her baby who has returned to God? I had none. I sat with them in silence part of the time. I cried with them. And I prayed with them. Hoping, begging that God would offer some sort of supernatural comfort, some sort of peace that passes our understanding.

I'll say this too: no matter how secure you are in your faith, experiencing the death of a baby makes you ask tough questions that rattle your faith. How is God faithful in this tragedy? Why does God allow this kind of hurt? Where is the blessing in this? What are God's purposes?

I think I am still in a bit of a grieving phase for this family's loss. And then I remember that my grief can't compare to their's. I know that their struggle with these questions must dwarf my own. So I continue to pray that they will find God's shalom. Pray with me that they will cling to each other and draw strength and courage from their faith.

The only answer I can fathom to these unmentionable questions is "not yet." God dreams of perfection for us, but we don't have that yet. God has healing waters in store for us soon. God's Kingdom is here and now, but not fully revealed yet. His goodness and faithfulness are not yet fully known. And so we faithfully wait on the Lord. Our souls wait, more than watchmen wait for the morning. More than watchmen wait for the morning.