We ask your prayer for a family that lives just a few houses down from us in Tegucigalpa. Their son of just 3 years old died a few days ago of smoke inhalation when their home caught on fire.A friend of mine, who knew I lived close by, called me and asked me to go see what was happening since her fire was on fire. Tragically, this woman's little boy was caught inside the home and they couldn't get him out until it was too late, so when the firemen came, they could not revive him.
As I sat in the ambulance praying for this mother and her family, I watched her embrace her little boy to her chest cry out to the Lord. It seemed her son had only fallen asleep. With several of her friends we interceded, asked God for a miracle, and agonized with her pain. I shared with her husband how we were praying since he was out of town and returning as quickly as possible.
Everyone present, friends and family, neighbors and others were in a state of shock but at the same time prayers were on all our lips. We prayed against the onslaught of guilt and fear of recrimination. We prayed that through this first wave of anguish and pain their family would be strengthened, that their other two children (2 years and 8 years--in the same grade/school as my son) would be comforted, that the spouses would support one another unconditionally and that this incomprehensible tragedy would be used by God to unite them all.
The entire neighborhood and school has been impacted by this tragedy and so we ask that you would accompany us in prayer, that they would sense God's presence and that their thoughts would be aligned with His truths:
…We are here on this earth for a short time (John 14:1-4)
… This world where sin and death rule is not our final destiny, we are en route to a New Heaven and New Earth (Rev. 21)
… That God is good and He loves children (Luke 18:16) and will care for them (Matthew 18:10)
…That God's sons and daughters will spend eternity together in His presence and that it is right and good to look forward to this gran reunion (I Thess. 2:19-20; 4:13-14, 17-18)
…That our children are on loan to us, they are gifts from God (Ps. 127:3)
Pray for this family, but let not our prayers be: Oh Lord, may this never happen to me, but rather, Lord, please manifest Yourself in the life of this family.
PS: We were fortunate enough to have a friend of mine, Eduardo Mena, from Costa Rica, who also lost his daughter, Rebeca, in a car accident, email me a Spanish copy of David Wiersbe's book: Gone but not lost: Grieving the death of a child.
Lord willing, I will be meeting with this family this Sunday morning to share this book and a little booklet called, Heaven, by Randy Alcorn.
4 comments:
I will surround them in my prayers. In Christ's love, Anne
Oh Lisa, what a terrible tragedy. I will certainly put the entire family on my prayer list for the rest of this month. You have wisely outlined all of the hazards ahead for the grieving family: recriminations, guilt, etc. There is no EASY way to navigate through all of these emotions, but I think your visit and the resources you bring should be a good first step. God bless you, brave prayer warrior. aunt betty
Thanks, Lisa, for sharing your experience with us. May this great loss become an open window to enable you to come closer to this family. Thanks for your sensitivity.
Is Wiersbe’s book in Spanish?
jack
Dear Lisa,
I am fighting back tears as I am typing this..
My family had to deal with this very same kind of tragic loss, when my older sister Emily, died at age 5, of spinal meningitis very quickly. I was only four, and my parents were devastated by the loss of their first-born child. Only their faith brought them through it. It is so easy to fall into guilt, shame and confusion when you lose a child. I know that if it weren't for my mother's steadfast faith and my dad's determination as the head of the family to still provide, they could have crumbled as a family and as people. They did have three other children at the time with another on the way a bit later, but it took an enormous amount of intestinal fortitude to stay faithful.
They were surrounded by people who were supportive, even if they could never know their pain, and of course, embraced lovingly by Their Lord. It saved their lives and their family.
God Bless you as you offer your true, heartfelt love to this family.
Love,
Sarah
Sarah McGraw
Wexford Acting Studio
2611 Nicholson Drive
Sewickley, PA 15143
www.WexfordActingStudio.com
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