Sunday, April 10, 2016

A SUNDAY THOUGHT...WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES


NOTE: This post was originally written about a year ago after the death of a former student who died in a car accident. The truths in it still ring true today as we mourn yet another loss...

Last week I took a half day off from work--not to enjoy the sun, or eat lunch with a friend, or do some shopping, but to attend a funeral with my oldest son. It was the funeral of one of his college friends and one of my former students who happened to also be a neighbor. He was killed in a tragic accident.

It was an extremely hard day for his fellow classmates. At the funeral, the speakers shared stories of the joy their friend had brought to their lives, the encouragement he always spread, and the friendship he had shared with so many of them. How would they get through this difficult time? And how would his parents?

My thoughts made their way to his parents and family. How would his mother and father continue day in and day out with this void in their lives? How would I linger in this life if faced with such sadness? There wouldn't be any doing it alone, that I know. I would be leaning on others and, more importantly, on Him. This, one of my favorite hymns, is what filled and comforted my spirit in those days and in the days to come as the reality of death made itself known.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms. 

(Written in 1887 in Alabama by Anthony Showalter and Elisha Hoffman)

The eternal God is your refuge; and underneath are the everlasting arms...
Deuteronomy 33:27

I hope you have a great Sunday,
Kathryn

6 comments:

  1. I've said it before and I will say it again........So blessed to be your Mother.

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    1. Thank you, Momma, my biggest fan. :-)

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    2. Happy Mother's Day to both of you! You both still have such a special place in my heart! Beautifully written Kathryn
      Love, ELizabeth

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  2. Old words but ever true! Thank you for the reminder. Love y'all!

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    Replies
    1. I miss these songs more and more. Love you, too! Thanks for reading along.

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