After Great Pain...

What do you do when tragedy strikes your youth group, your town? Maybe it’s a car wreck, or tornado, or someone’s mom dying of cancer. Or one of the teens dying of cancer. Whatever it is, the victims are too young, and your youth are in shock. And you are, too.

We’ve been through this—and nothing can prepare anyone for something horrible like this. And there is no way to be "strong enough" on your own, either. God is the only one strong enough to carry us through the pain to the other side—the side where you never forget, but you do move on, and where you enjoy the special moments of each day when you connect with friends and family, and even strangers, because you realize now how fragile life is. And where you seek God with all your heart, and get everyone around you to do the same, so that we all have the hope of eternity together, where there are no more tears.

I didn’t really like Emily Dickinson’s poetry when we studied it in school. But one line of hers always stuck in my head. “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.” She’s right. After great pain, after the shock, the sobbing, the anger, the confusion, the yelling, after it all, you get to this quiet place. This serious place. This spot where you are sort of numb, and you wonder if you will smile or laugh again. Or even if you should. But you will. And what I’ve found out, through tough experience, is that after great pain, a deeper joy can come. Deeper worship can come. Serious, amazing praise can come. A love of life that is more real and meaningful can come. A heart for evangelism and compassion for the hurting can come. I think the secret to all of these things is letting God join you in your pain. He, too, has known tragedy. He, too, has lost a child. In fact, if it weren’t for that One child, He would have lost all His children.

So, don’t shut him out. He can handle any grief, any anger, any and every emotion you need to direct at Him. And when that strange quiet envelops you, know that He is there, too, waiting to take you farther up and farther in, higher than you ever were before. He loves you.