USC Tragedy

The 7 college students that were killed last Monday in the horrifying fire have been on my heart all week. This tragedy hits close to home

1. Because I graduated from USC and was in a sorority (Kappa Delta) and knew many Tri Delts and SAE’s.
2. Because we just had a fire in our house this past June

Seeing this fire and all the suffering it has brought has brought back some hard memories of our fire. What if Jackson had been in his room when it caught on fire? What if Charlie had not heard the smoke detectors (I certainly did not hear them)? What if God had decided to take Jackson? Would I have been strong enough to have endured the tremendous loss of a child? I am praying for these families daily, and Dr. Estep preached a wonderful message on, “When Bad Things Happen” (go to the website and here the ending song…it was unbelievable).

After having Jackson, I really did ponder on what was the worst event that could ever happen to us. Jackson is ultimately God’s child not mine. God has given Jackson to us as a wonderful gift. The suffering here on earth is only temporal. The worst event that could happen to our family is not that one of our children died, but rather if one of our children died and we knew 100 percent that they had rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Where we spend eternity is FOREVER! The suffering here one earth is only temporal. Am I daily choosing to live for eternity or am I choosing to live for the temporal things. Is unpacking boxes and having a perfectly clean and organized house more important to me right now than holding my baby and reading to Him God’s Word? I think women especially get so unhappy because they put all their thoughts and energy in temporal things such as baking the perfect meal….is baking the perfect meal really investing in eternity? We were not created to live for the temporal things of this world!

Finally, today in my daily reading of Scripture, I was reading John 9 and 10. In Chapter 9 Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus if this man or his parent had sinned. Jesus clearly states, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Sometimes I believe bad things happen so that the work of God might be displayed in that person’s life. We were not created to worship ourselves, but our Creator. If an event, however hard it might be, helps us grow closely in our relationship with God, as well as to die to ourselves, and depend on God…..will it not then be totally worth all the pain?