1 Peter 4:8 – Above all, show sincere love to each other, because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins.

Gratitude Day 836

There are many times and situations in life when we have no words.

I feel like there have been more than a few recently in my life.

What about you?

Last week, I shared of my dear friend Pastor Carol’s death.

Yesterday, Hubby Rick called me with awful news. A bus was picking up kids before school when an approaching truck veered to the right to avoid hitting the bus. Unfortunately, the truck hit a middle school student who was preparing to board the bus. This student was a young girl and a close friend of one of our grandchildren.

Death often “sucks.” This was the word used when a loved one of Pastor Carol reached out to me this week. In this situation with this school student? Double suck. Triple suck. One thousand times suck and this is not enough sucks.

My purpose for sharing this situation is not to dig into what happened. I share this story because it indicates how one incident can change and affect so many people.

All the kids who were on the bus.

The bus driver.

The girl’s family, extended family.

Her friends.

Her teammates.

Classmates.

All the middle school teachers, admin, helpers, students.

Friends of her parents, family members, teammates, classmates, teachers, admin, helpers.

Other bus drivers.

The medical people who were involved.

The sheriff’s department who were on sight or not.

The driver of the truck and his/her family. Friends.

And all of those that I missed.

This list already includes hundreds and hundreds of affected people. And so many of them are probably asking, “Where was God?”

Where was God when the driver approached the bus?

Where was God when the truck could have slowed down?

Where was God when this young girl’s life ended?

I am sure there are so many other “Where was God” questions. Ones I have not even began to think about.

I cannot adequately answer these questions. It takes some up higher up the food chain to be able to do this. Clearly, this level of questioning is beyond my pay grade.

Do I believe God was present as this terrible even happened?

YES. Over and over, I believe God was there. With the girl. Her family. All those kids on the bus. The first responders who arrived and provided assistance. The truck driver. And everyone else who will be part of this awful ordeal.

How was God present? I cannot answer. But I am 1000% confident God was there.

How do I know this? Because God has been present with everyone in an awful, indescribable situation that has ever happened. God wants us to know we are not alone, no matter what happens.

What do I say to you in light of what has happened recently?

Hug your loved ones tighter.

Tell them you love them.

Treasure every opportunity you have placed before you.

Be thankful for everything. Good times. Challenging days. Sadness as well as happiness.

Share and receive grace daily. Hourly. Sometimes, by the minute.

Love and be loved.

For the opportunity to hug someone today, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – May I appreciate this day in a very special way. Accept the challenges and know that with You, I do not have to be overwhelmed. Be with those who are going through an awful and difficult time right now. May Your grace fill their hearts. Thank you for always being with me. Amen.

P.S. – I promise we will return to more regular blogging soon. I’m just sharing what is in my life and on my heart these days because this is, well, real life. Just keeping it simple, my friends.

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