“ Why!” – Braden’s dad

“If you aren’t getting the right answer, maybe you’re asking the wrong question.” – Braden

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This just couldn’t be true.

A social media post on July Fourth began, “Prayers for the kids lost in the Guadeloupe River flood last night”. Scrolling to find similar mentions, I found nothing and hoped it was just a fake story. It wasn’t. The national news quickly had it on every outlet. A story impossible to believe yet too real to ignore. Thus far, around 50 people are either lost or drowned. Many were children attending a Christian youth camp still not found. A large number of fatalities have been confirmed and the numbers will rise. Tragedies like these once felt distant, but they now hit close to home.

Several years ago, I handled accident claims in the Hill Country. Many Texans consider this part of the state to be “God’s country”, but I know firsthand that its beauty can mask the dangers and sometimes, tragedy. On many occasions, I had the difficult job of meeting personally with people who had experienced the loss of family members and too often their own children. Some were drowned in high water crossings. Others were survivors of their elderly parent(s), lost to car accidents on narrow winding roads. One of my saddest cases involved a teenager who had been driving her little brother to a Christian camp outside Marble Falls when she missed a sharp curve and went over an embankment into a deep canyon. Both kids were gone instantly. Their parents met with me, but neither said a word. Other stories were too disturbing to share, but I recall each one. The eyes of every parent contained the same despair, but there was something else behind their shocked stares. Confusion. They all had the same unanswerable question. Why would a loving God allow this to happen?

Watching such horrors happening to others, I still remember thinking, how do these people continue to even breathe? How might I deal with such devastation if it happened to my family? I could never have imagined at the time that one day I’d look down and see the shoes of those devastated parents on my feet. For several years following our loss, I saw in my mirror that same blank stare. Behind my eyes, the same impossible question. Why!

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This weekend, Cathy and I have talked together about the question God has heard a billion times. Specifically, how could He allow such tragedy to happen even to innocent children? They had likely gone to bed after singing Kum ba Yah, making s’mores, and giggling themselves to sleep. For no reason we can fathom, in an instant their innocent dreams turned into nightmares and death.

Honestly, events like these lead me wonder if there’s someone out there, finally ready to crack open the door to Jesus who will now slam it shut. Even some of the faithful directly impacted by this tragedy will do just that. Cathy knows the Bible better than most and is especially insightful on spiritual things. I asked her about it, needing something more than, “We just won’t know until we get to Heaven.” Her reply was pretty much the same, though. “We’ll never fully understand God’s thinking with our human mind”. Although I hated the answer, she was right.

With no satisfactory answer possible, maybe instead of asking God this question, we should be asking ourselves a different one, which can and should be answered in every life…

“When bad things happen to good people, how should we respond? There are only two options: Draw towards God or turn away from Him. This question isn’t one we ask of Him but one He asks each of us. It’s a question that certainly begs an answer.

When we surrender our lives to God, the deal doesn’t come with an exemption from the sorrows of this fallen earthly world. Those are outside our control. He does however provide His promises, that He will never leave us nor forsake us. That He is with us in the storm. He had us write down His promises for the times we’ll need reminding, like this weekend after a raging Texas flood. None of these promises are assurance of a trouble free existence, though. In fact we’re guaranteed to have sorrows and trials in this world. His Word is there to assure us that even through the valleys of death, He is always with us every step of the way. Most importantly, His promises aren’t subject to temporary conditions, be they weather or any other. They’re eternal.

When flood waters recede, buildings will be rebuilt and lives will begin healing. Some will continually ask the futile Why question and possibly never resurface from the storm. Others will look to God’s promises and rise above the surface to become stronger than they ever thought possible. I’m confident the new homes God has been preparing well ahead of time will be occupied by the sweet souls of God’s children. Those left behind will have opportunities to serve as bold witnesses to what God can do with storms when we keep our eyes on Him.

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Prayer for the lost (and found): Heavenly Father, we can never understand the vastness of Your mind by using the ones You gave us. In the aftermath of devastating storms in this life, help us reach up for Your hand so we won’t go under. For these families, we pray for comfort, provision, protection, and purpose to arise out of such senseless tragedy. Only You can heal such hurts. Thank You for assurance through the promise of peace beyond understanding and a hope for tomorrow with You. Amen

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“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Phillippians 4:6-7