WhY?

Last night I got the message that someone a community had been praying for had suddenly passed away. He was the son of someone my mom works with at school in Mendota. Just over a week-and-a-half ago, Andrew was a normal, healthy 20year-old college student who had just finished finals. He had been home a few days and developed a migraine, which he had never had before. A short hospital visit was followed by violent seizures at home and resulted in him being flown to Peoria. He slipped into a coma and would only open his eyes while having a seizure. They thought he was stabilizing and then suddenly, he let go. The doctors were and are still baffled as to the cause of the illness. No one knows why. WhY?

Last night I was informed that a friend from church and softball had been up in Michigan to visit family for Christmas. His wife’s deranged ex-husband came to the house they were staying at Saturday night, with multiple firearms. He intended to confront the boyfriend of his former wife. When the home owner went outside to meet the man, he was shot in the chest on the front lawn. Our friend, Darren, tried to barricade the front door. The gunman (his former uncle), apparently fired through the door, hitting Darren twice in the femur. Once inside, the gunman allowed the women and children to leave, as well as Darren and his father, so he was rushed to the hospital. Doctors said that most people who sustain an injury of this nature to the femoral artery bleed to death, but Darren made it. The gunman then shot and killed the boyfriend of his ex-wife before killing himself when police arrived. Darren has had four surgeries so far. He is still in intensive care, on dialysis. It is unclear whether he will keep his leg. He lives and breathes sports and is an amazing multi-sport athlete. How do you cope with a tragic injury like this, not to mention the violent and senseless loss of those close to you torn away? Why do these things happen? WhY?

http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1167064562302070.xml&coll=3

I started reading David Crowder’s new book, “Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but Nobody wants to Die,” last night. It just happened to be on top of the stack of books I intend to read next. It deals primarily with death, the resulting sadness it brings, the existence of the soul, etc. The first story David shared was of his friend Kyle Lake, who was electrocuted last October while baptizing a friend on Sunday morning in front of the congregation, including his wife and children in Waco, TX. Why would God allow this to happen? What message does this give to unbelievers…to believers? WhY?