What’s troubling you right now?  We all have an answer to that question, don’t we?  Whether it’s, “I need a job”, or “this loved one’s health is failing”, or “my friend’s ED (eating disorder) has reared it’s ugly head again”, the answers are endless.

Our family just marked the 20th anniversary of a tragic loss in our lives.  My dear sister-in-law Dana (rhymes with banana) fell down the stairs in a shopping mall.  The fall severed her brain stem.  My precious mother-in-law Dorothy saw the whole thing happen and knew right away, that was just a body, it wasn’t Dana anymore.

It was 20 year ago, yet feels like yesterday.  Why would God take a woman who dedicated her life to serving others, delivering Meals On Wheels in her free time, and using her skills as an attorney to help the disabled and elderly get their benefits, so young?  We probably won’t know the answer to that question this side of heaven.

But what DO we know? We can look forward to being reunited with Dana in heaven some day and serve the God of all comfort who promises never to leave us alone.  He loves us with his unfailing love, through all the unanswered questions, suffering and pain.  My prayer is you will trust in that promise today like I’ve seen my husband and his family do year after year.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-5.