Seeing Beyond Tragedy

Saturday morning passed quickly. Soon it was noon, then Tana's desperate phone call. When we arrived at the scene of the accident an ambulance, policemen and divers were already there, but it was too late.

As I looked into the water at the river's edge, the word, "heaven ... heaven ... heaven," darted back and forth in my mind. "God is good," I thought. "He will not allow us to suffer more than we can bear."3 Other fragments from the Bible ran through my mind. "Kay is not in that water," I said to myself. "Only her body is there. Kay is in heaven."

We waited. We wept. We prayed. As soon as we were back home we wanted Doug to be with us, but a thousand-mile round trip separated us. Amazingly, the father of one of Kay's friends was able to take Charlie in his business jet to pick up Doug. They were home by 8:30 p.m.

How could we ever be
ready for a day like this?

Later, Tana told us how she screamed for help and a man she had only renewed acquaintance with the evening before was on the other bank and jumped in to help her. The fact that she knew him gave her much relief.

Our whole family believed in God. We had all accepted his Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior, and believed his Word that says, "All things work together for good to those who love God." But now we asked, and perhaps you ask too, "How could any good come out of this heartbreaking loss?"

Looking back, however, we can see much good. The greatest good, and most comforting thought for us, was knowing that Kay had made her peace with God by accepting Jesus Christ and had gone to heaven. Because we, too, were Christians, we knew that someday we would all see Kay again in heaven. "How tragic," we all felt, "to die without being a Christian—without any hope of ever seeing loved ones again. The loss would have been too much for us to bear."

Even in the smaller details we could see God's loving care in the happenings of the previous weeks. He knew and took care of the details right down to the 12:05 phone call. Any earlier and I'd have been home alone. A little later and we'd have been gone for the afternoon.

Furthermore, Kay was well-known and well-liked, so hundreds of teenagers attended her funeral. All heard the way to heaven explained. We were thankful for this. In fact, we know of three young men who accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior that day and they, too, are now ready for heaven. That was very good, too.

One month after Kay's accident, one of her close friends, Brenda, came to see us. "How could we be so sure that Kay was in heaven?" she wanted to know. We went over the Bible verses on the back of Kay's Memorial leaflet and before she left, we gave her one of Kay's Bibles and a brochure, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian." The next day Brenda told us that she had prayed to invite Christ into her heart. In so doing she became a Christian and received the assurance that she, too, would go to heaven. That was another good outcome.

Something else very good could happen. If you're not sure you're prepared for heaven, you could be certain by responding to God's invitation to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and life as personal Lord and Savior. Knowing that you have the gift of life beyond death is one of life's greatest treasures. It can be yours. If you'd like help, please click on the KNOW GOD or FIND PEACE WITH GOD link below and you will see how you, too, can be sure that you are a real Christian.

Remember, too, "All things do work together for good to those who love God," and the surest way to be prepared for any major crisis is to commit and trust your life to God—every day!

1. Romans 8:28.
2. Psalm 121:1,2.
3. I Corinthians 10:13.

Written and © Copyright by Jaxie Miller

Continued on Page Three Back to Page One


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