When Life is Unexpectedly Short...

Today is our daughter Hannah's 11th birthday. And for 10 years, we have celebrated her birthday with her absent from the party. You see, Hannah passed away at her birth. Yet, while we miss her presence and the opportunity to experience all that her life on earth would have blessed us with, we are comforted by the reality that she is experiencing the relationship with God she was created for in Heaven. She sees Jesus face to face and has so from the beginning.

And while there are times that we still feel the grief and pain that comes from our daughter's death, we also recognize that she never experienced the grief and pain that can so often confront us as we live life on earth. The grief and pain that many feel as they suffer hurt and loss that comes when a loved one passes away.

And this morning, as I remember the passing of our daughter, my heart also goes out to those who who are wrestling with the grief, pain and loss as a result of the sudden and tragic death of a local high school teacher. A local teacher who impacted the lives of thousands of students, parents, and fellow teachers.

With any sudden loss we tend to find ourselves face to face with profound pain and profound questions. Profound pain and profound questions that we do not normally consider or care to answer. Profound questions like "Why am I here? Am I investing my life in what is most important? Do I have the right priorities in mind? Am I living a life that matters?" Profound questions that we normally do not consider or care to answer because we think that we have plenty of time. It is a sudden and tragic loss that brings us to the harsh reality that long life is not guaranteed to anyone. There are times when life is shorter than we expected or anticipated.

In the Bible, there is a section of a letter where the smartest man who ever lived, Solomon, responded to this reality with a simple statement that calls us to change our perspective when it comes to dealing with these profound questions:

It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2

Solomon is not saying that funerals are better than parties. Right before this sentence, Solomon had made the strong statement that the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. Solomon here is explaining why he believes that the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth. Solomon states that it is better to go to a funeral than to attend a baby shower because all humanity will experience death.

And being at a funeral causes those who are living to ponder the life that they are currently living and what is important. Because, no matter how we try to avoid or ignore it, the harsh reality is that no one can escape death. All of humanity has an appointment with death. And for some, like my daughter Hannah and a local teacher, that appointment comes sooner than we expect or anticipate.

The sudden and unexpected loss of life causes incredible pain and grief that is unexpressable at times. The sudden and unexpected loss of life also causes us to ponder and consider the relationships and activities that we invest our lives in. Funerals remind us of what we often forget: that long life is not promised to anyone.

So on Hannah's 11th birthday, my heart and my prayers go out to all who are suffering the hurt and pain that comes from this sudden loss. And in the midst of this sudden loss, I find comfort in a prayer that a man named Paul prayed to others who were suffering, which is found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.