A Tragedy

Something horrible happened in my sleepy little town yesterday. While so many of us were preparing to watch the Super Bowl, the lives of two different families would be changed forever.

Around 2pm, there was a loud crack and explosion that shook almost every home in our quiet little community. Since we live in California, most of us assumed it was an earthquake. But suddenly the sky filled with black billows of smoke and flames shot out of a home. Pieces of metal and glass fell from the sky and landed all around a 4 block radius. A small plane had fallen from the sky, killing the pilot and four people inside the home it hit, all members of the same family. Two more family members were taken to the hospital with burns and other injuries.

Many neighbors ran toward the home trying to get everyone out and douse the flames. Others tried to keep “lookie-loos” out of the way. Everyone was in shock. Everyone was shaken to the core, and most everyone hugged their own families a little harder last night.

There is just no way to process a tragedy like this. And everyone will process it differently as we lift each other up and hold on, trying to make sense out of something so unexpected and tragic. The community is struggling to find out how to help. The first responders and law enforcement teams are struggling to get all the details. The press is struggling to get all the facts to report.

I struggled as I tried to sleep last night. Every sound put me on edge. The Disneyland fireworks, that can be heard each night, are normally a fond reminder of wonderful family times together at Disneyland. But last night, they seemed disturbing, more a reminder of the explosion from earlier in the day that took the lives of people that may or may not have known the Lord.

So I did what comes most natural to me…I prayed. I prayed for peace for myself so I wouldn’t be upset and distracted. I prayed for protection for my home and my family. I prayed for those folks who have lost family members. I prayed for the neighbors that live next to the still smoking frame of a home that stood for 30 years. I prayed for the doctors taking care of the injured. And then I prayed for my city and country and the world at large.

There is evil in the world. It will never go away. Since the beginning of time, evil has been on a very targeted mission to destroy all that is good and holy. Satan and his armies have been at war with God and His holy warriors. I suppose it could be easier to just throw up my hands and say I’m just one person, what can I do to stop evil from swallowing up everything good? But then I remember that I can make a difference!

Jesus said if you have the faith of even a small mustard seed, you can move a mountain. My little mustard seed prayers can make a change. I can provide the prayer cover for God’s warriors to win the next battle. My prayers can and do make a difference!

There are times I feel helpless and like there isn’t anything I can do to help. I’ve found myself saying, “I can’t do much, but I can pray!” But I realized, that I’ve missed the point. Its not that prayer is a last ditch, nothing-else-has-worked-so-I-might-as-well-try-this weapon in the fight against evil. Prayer is the strongest, and most direct path to getting help! Praying should always be the first thing I offer, not the last.

I’m continuing to pray today as the sun comes up and everyone is still looking for answers to why that little plane crashed. This morning, as I thought about the family members left behind and the neighborhood that will likely never be the same, and as I read the posts on social media about the tragedy, I was reminded of something I read in Psalms 39.

There are so many times that we don’t speak up. We’ve been taught from childhood that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I suppose that is true for a lot of situations, but it’s become a blanket rule for every situation, especially for those of us who are believers in Christ when it comes to sharing the Good News of salvation. But in Psalms 39, David talks about the danger of not speaking up when we should. He says:

I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” But as I stood there in silence – not even speaking of good things – the turmoil within me grew worse. The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words: “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered – how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

What I got from this passage were some questions that I’ve been pondering and asking myself. Questions that will be my focus as I head into this next week. I wonder if any of them resonate with you?

• Life is short, have I said everything I needed to say?
• Do those I care about know how much they mean to me?
• Have a made it clear to the world around me that I believe in a loving God and that He saved me from my sins? And that He can do the same for them?

I hate that a tragedy like the one from yesterday is what it takes for us to wake up as believers and remind us that there is a very lost world out there. Have we taken every opportunity that has come our way to not stand silent, but to speak God’s truth to those we love?