http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/16/nursing-a-broken-heart-these-12-tips-could-help/
Dear Albany High School,
By Grace, God invites us into the divine heart. Through water and the Spirit we are connected to the body of Christ–redeemed and forgiven, hearing the words, “You are my beloved child. I am pleased with you!” As children of God we are invited to gather around the Lord’s Table to receive the real and true presence of Christ.
When I gather for communion, I always remember Rita Rawle’s, funeral. My grandmother, Rita, used to talk about how we “commune with the saints,” which at first I thought was a football reference because she lived on the “best bank,” of the river. At my grandmother’s funeral, when the priest broke the bread and poured out the wine, he too talked about communing with the saints. He then said that our faith teaches that when we share the bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, we share it with the saints, those who have gone before us–those who live in heaven–live in the heart of God. Then he seemed to look right at me to say, “When we gather around this table, we still have the blessing of sharing a meal with Rita.” I will never forget that.
Over the weekend, Albany High School received terrible and tragic news–Two students lost their life. To those I’ve spoken with, I refuse to lie. Truth is . . . it sucks. It hurts. It hurts today and it will hurt tomorrow. It’s a senseless suffering which leaves confusion, anger, and pain in its wake. When I hear of the pain friends experience, I am reminded of the sobbing Psalmist who wrote, “My tears have been food day and night while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?'” (Psalm 42:3). The Psalms invite us to shake our fist to the heavens and scream, “I don’t understand!”
What do we do in the midst of suffering? Job lost his family, his property, his health, and eventually I would argue–he began to lose himself. The advice he received is as awful as it is familiar–“You obviously did something wrong, Job. Search your heart Job. You must have offended God. Curse God and die.”
Job shook his fist at the heavens and essentially said, “I’m done!” God then appeared “out of the whirlwind.” What an appropriate image of suffering–a whirlwind. In the midst of suffering, sometimes we don’t know up from down, left from right, blessing from curse. God appeared out of the whirlwind and said, “Gird up your loins, for I have a question for you.” What happens next is both remarkable and an offering for how we should respond to tragedy. God surrounded Job with beauty. God took Job on a tour of the universe–things no other human had ever seen. God showed him the depths of the ocean and the burning heart of stars. In other words, God met suffering with beauty.
Here is the mystery. God meets suffering with beauty because when suffering meets beauty we find redemption. Suffering can lead to despair. Suffering can break us. The guy who came up with “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle” or “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is a liar as far as I’m concerned. The former is a mockery of grace and the latter runs counter to the Kingdom for which Jesus died. Yes, the Holy Spirit is a refining fire and sometimes when we meet God face to face we leave with a limp (ask Jacob), but scripture reminds us that when Job was finally broken, God offered him the most beautiful things God could muster–because when suffering meets beauty, we find redemption. It is the story of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
http://jantielens.wordpress.com/2008/08/
For those whose eyes cannot stop crying. For those whose anger consumes their thoughts. For those whose daydreams are nightmares. Surround yourself with something beautiful. Maybe you find beauty in your spouse? Maybe you find beauty in your church family? Maybe you find beauty with paint and canvas? Maybe you find beauty on the court? Maybe you find beauty with a guitar and a blank journal. For me, I find beauty in the broken bread and the wine outpoured because I know that Jesus . . . and Rita, are there.
Surround yourself with beauty, for beauty is God’s redemptive answer to suffering.
Lovely sentiments. God gives us exactly what we need when we need it in His time. Yes death hurts, but the beauty and joy that awaits us is what keeps us going. It’s easy to be angry and hurt, but much harder to rejoice that your friends suffering is over. I know very little about the deaths of these youth, but they, I pray, are at peace. God bless