Tragedy

Leave a comment Posted on April 29, 2022

Up From The Abyss We Arose

Life is full of tragedy. No elaboration is necessary.

What is helpful is to think about how one gets past the darkest moments of life, the challenges that drain the soul, the perils that threaten to unravel whatever feelings of serenity we have been able to wrap around us to protect us from the constant assaults that stalk us like famished wolves.

Before that climactic Passover week in Jerusalem, the Apostles, like most of their countrymen, were looking forward to the restoration of their nation, the full revealing of the Messiah they had followed for over 3 years. They felt this was it, and their adrenaline was higher than it had ever been.

Then, suddenly, he was dead. Their Christ was gone. They fled for their lives. They hid in terror. All appeared lost.

So it seemed for a few days. Yet on a Sunday morning the mood changed. They remained confused, but their emotions shifted from bewildered devastation to hopeful anticipation. Things had not turned out as they expected. Instead, their new reality was beyond anything they could have imagined. [Eph. 3:20-21]

And so it can be with us. Whenever life seems at it’s worse, and hope seems a cynical tease, it helps to recall or imagine those times when we felt the rush of pure joy. We can remind ourselves that one day those feelings will return.

While we may not have experienced these personally, we can at least imagine the relief that comes from life’s best moments.

The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes with our graduation, or landing the job we wanted, or beginning a long-awaited and deserved retirement.

The birth of a child or grandchild, their graduation, a baptism or wedding.

Paying off a mortgage or lingering crushing credit card debt.

News of a improved medical prognosis.

The restoration of a friendship you have missed, moving past whatever drove the two of you apart.

The Christian hope of a life beyond the heartache of life here. I don’t believe we’re supposed to know much about Heaven, for good reason. All I need to know is in Revelation 21:1-4, where Heaven is described as a place of perfect peace where we get to live with God.

Even if other respites I’ve mentioned have failed, and one has never had the chance to experience those joys, Christians have this final and permanent solace that lies beyond.

So when life is at its worst, and you need encouragement, remember or imagine the relief that comes when things go well.

Jesus knew how everything would turn out when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” [Matt. 26:39 NIV].

Since he has been where you are, he understands, sympathizes, and is waiting for you to let him help you out of your abyss.

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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis.

1 Comment Posted on April 16, 2021April 21, 2021

What Worries Broderick And Lillian

Sitting in his arm chair after a day of work, Broderick scanned the headlines of the evening paper.

Many of the stories seemed to repeat themselves. It had been 10 years since the end of the Great War. Europe was still struggling to get back on its feet. There had been riots in Germany. The authorities were still trying to update the statistics about the Spanish Flu, analyzing the worldwide death toll and its economic impact.

Other news seemed promising. The stock market was booming. More people were buying their first cars. He and his wife Lillian were thinking about buying one of the new wireless radios that had recently gone on the market.

Lillian came in with her tea, and sat on the love seat. “Anything interesting?” she asked.

Broderick didn’t look up from the paper. After a moment he answered. “The Williamson’s boy is home from that sanitarium. They’re calling it shell-shock. Gilbert told me that the last time they saw him he still couldn’t speak. The shelling in those trenches was horrific.”

He looked on another page. “Another raid on a speakeasy, but you know most of them still operate without interference.”

Lillian shook her head, remembering the rumored bribes that were being paid so that officials looked the other way.

“Other than that, it’s the same stories about people going wild these days” he added.

They sat for a moment. Broderick still scanning the paper, Lillian staring at the fireplace.

Lillian seemed exasperated. “It’s as if after the slaughter of the Great War, and so many young people and children dying within a day of that cursed flu, the country seems to have become so relieved to be alive that they’ve lost all sense of restraint. They’ve lost their minds, their inhibitions, their morals.”

“I know, I know” he agreed as he turned the page. “The parties have gotten out of control. What you said, and the booming market, makes everyone believe nothing can happen to them now. They think they’re invincible. Prohibition was supposed to make things better but I think it backfired. It seems to have encouraged people to break the law, which has inspired them to throw away any moral guidance they’ve ever had.”

“It makes me worry about Robert and Dorothy” she said. “We’ve done our best to raise them right but I worry about how they’ll turn out. I know they’re still young but they aren’t blind. They see and hear what’s going on and you know it’s effecting them.”

She went on, almost without catching a breath. “My nephews make it worse. They stop by and brag about their wild parties. And those drunk girls they brought with them. Shameful! I can’t believe my brother is letting them go on like that.”

“They’re grown men and can do what they want” Broderick said without taking his eyes off the paper. “All we can do is set a different example, not just for Robert and Dorothy, but for those nephews of yours. We can be ready to help them pick up the pieces when their good times come to an end. And we can keep praying, not just for them but for ourselves that we won’t give up on them.”

They sat in silence. after the nation had gone through so much, and people were finally able to let off some steam, it seemed that many had lost their way.

But not everyone. Broderick and Lillian and other families of faith were grateful that their trust in and obedience to God had helped them not only weather the storms, but also encouraged them to remain faithful to the Christian foundation upon which they had always relied.

Broderick and Lillian knew for their own sake, and for Robert and Dorothy and their children and grandchildren, that they had to hold on to the only thing that was solid and firm and dependable. Their faith, built on rock not sand [Matt: 7:24-27] would keep them and the generations of the faithful who followed their example, protected in the long run.

Tragedies happen to all. But what mattered most was their commitment to trusting he who would always be there for them.

They kept their eyes on that which is eternal, and would not allow themselves to be sidetracked by the temporary.

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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis

PostScript for “What Worries Broderick and Lillian”

I had debated whether to include some explanation of my last article. I decided it could be a distraction, or anti-climactic.

Some have begun to draw parallels between the 1920s and the 2020s. There are some similarities. Yet what they went through was far more traumatic than what we’ve experienced this past year. Not to minimize our losses, but the horror of World War I and the devastating effects of the Spanish Flu were far worse.

We can however appreciate the similarities of how different people respond to tragedy. True spiritual principles never expire, and are as helpful today as they were 100 years ago, and back much much further.

1 Comment Posted on November 2, 2019December 19, 2020

Blaming God

It was one tragedy on top of another.

A father was devastated that his son had been in a near fatal car wreck. The son lost control of his car while speeding down a country road, and had plowed into a tree. He was paralyzed from the neck down.

This would have been tragic no matter the circumstances, but was especially hard because the son was a young man with his whole life ahead of him.

The other tragedy was how the father reacted. He reasoned that if God really loved them he would have prevented the young man from speeding and wrecking his car. The father blamed God that his son was sentenced to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Some leaders in the church let him vent, and tried to cautiously suggest that his son was responsible not God. The Father refused to even consider the possibility.

Have you blamed God for your genes, holding him responsible for whatever health challenges you face? Do you feel it’s his fault that the nation isn’t living up to its ideals? Do you blame him for allowing whatever tempts you to be in plain sight, smack in front of you, in your face?

It depends. If we’re having a bad day, we might. If we’re having a rational day, with an understanding of our own [and society’s] weaknesses and failures, and a clear appreciation for God’s will in our lives, maybe not.

Lets ask ourselves some questions.

1. Do you believe God wants and expects to micromanage our lives? Although earnest believers want God’s guidance to inform their every decision, it’s unlikely they want to be robots. They appreciate God’s willingness to grant us free will. Without free will we can’t be responsible for our actions, and every disappointment, crime, disaster and tragedy is indeed his fault.

If we have no free will, could someone even blame God? Would he allow that? Wouldn’t we be programed to automatically smile and “drink the Kool-Aid”?

With free will we have plenty of opportunities to mess up. Sometimes that leads to tragedies we’ve created by ourselves, or have been imposed on us by someone else’s wrong use of their free will.

Sometimes tragedies are just a freak of nature. Stuff happens. I hate the phrase “Act of God.”

2. When we blame God are we also thanking God? While bad things do happen, so do good things. If someone who is spiritually sour wants to lash out at God, they may not be the sort of person who is grateful to him when things go well. They are trapped in a bad mood.

I’m not suggesting that we maintain a balance between blaming and thanking. I’m not suggesting that if we thank God enough, we’ll have some sort of the gratitude bank to draw from when we’re in the mood to whine. I’m not suggesting that constant thanking would induce a mind-numbing blissfulness that precludes us from even thinking of blaming God.

I will suggest that if we ever go to God with a heart-wrenching plea to understand the tragedies of life, it would help if we had already shown him that we know how good he has been to us.

He will always be there to listen and to guide, whether we already have a relationship with him or not. Yet we can manage life much better when we have a clearer understanding of his will, and be much less likely to blame him when life is hard.

3. Do you want God to be proud of how we handle life’s disappointments? Starting in grade school we all begin to learn that life isn’t fair. During adolescence we push back, presuming that we will change human nature and the established course of civilization. If someone arrives at maturity, they’ve come to a realization that life can be one frustrating challenge after another. The mark of adulthood is to be able to deal with it and keep going.

Along the way we are grateful for the good things and appreciate when they do go well. Many times, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We thank God for the little pleasures, satisfying successes, and for helping us take responsibility.

When Jesus said we are to have the faith of a child it was talking about us trusting God when we don’t fully understand something. He was not teaching us to avoid mature responsibility for our lives, actions, and responsibilities.

The more unfamiliar we are with God, the more likely we will misunderstand how he can work in our lives. Instead of blaming him we could discover him, listen to his deep truths, explore his love and grace, and gain a broader view of his role in his world.

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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis.

An abridged version of this article was published in the Faith+Values section of the Indianapolis Star 10.20.19, with a different title.