It would be wonderful to understand all mysteries. The ins and outs of our lives as we journey on our way to the mountain of God.

Death comes many times by surprise and having suffered an infant death as a young man and a young Christian believer, doesn't make the experience any less painful.

All we can do is hold tight to the truths we have come to understand and hold the hand of the person next to us and press into the bosom of our God. We mourn shedding the tears from our broken heart over the issue of death that has caught us completely unaware.

We also draw upon the strength of others who have joined us in our time of grief and listen to their words of comfort or their wordless comfort of just holding you close. Sometimes there is just nothing that can be said.

Our friend and previous pastor shared about King David, who's child dies. He spent seven days on his face before God, fasting and praying, but on the seventh day the child died. He arose, washed himself and ate, knowing that his child was in the hands of God and that he would see him again. King David was a man who chased after the heart of God, whom God loved and blessed richly. If you would think that any one's prayer should have been answered it would have been his.

Whether we are walking with God or not, tragedy befalls us all, but it is of utmost importance to have a faith to help carry you through. It is also comforting to have family or a community of people to lean on.

My stepson and wife suffered a loss of a child who died in the womb just short of being full term. She died of complications caused by a combination of factors and the young mother had to deliver a dead child, and this would have been their first born. They gave her a name, took the time to admire her and decided on cremation, so they could have her with them for awhile before deciding if they wanted to spread her ashes in a favorite place of theirs.

So many decisions, so much pain to bear, and so much to try and make sense of all in a very short time.

There is death and tragedy all about us, every day. People being shot, dying in fires, riots, earthquakes, land slides, war, famine, auto accidents or just being the victims of circumstance, wrong place at the wrong time.

No one is immune, we all will have to face it in one form or another. Some would say that being a Christian is foolishness, and God is just a crutch to our weakness, that all you need is yourself, to be strong, suck it up and move on, don't be a wimp.

The King of Israel sought after God and came to know him as a young man, out in the fields as he spent time with the sheep. He was no wimp. He killed bears and lions and other predators who came to harm the sheep. He was a fierce warrior and greatly admired and respected and other men of valor sought him out so they could be with him and fight in his army. He had one of the greatest kingdoms and was feared because of God who, was the God of David, the God of Israel.

Their is no shame in holding to faith and a faith that shows God as a friend.

So for me God is not a crutch i pick up just in my time of need, or a good story in a best selling book, or a myth that i hope might be true.

He has a place in my heart, he is reality and he is experiential. i love that he has said that he enjoys being a part of our lives, someone we can call upon, lean on, who is willing to comfort us in times of sorrow. He also sheds tears on account of our circumstances and pain.

i always hope for the best and pray and trust as i walk out this life, being blessed and being a blessing along my way.

It's a short journey, make the best of it and don't miss out on being friends with God.

You're going to meet him one way or the other!

(beautiful stained glass art by: Sylvia Laks)