“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” Sir Francis Bacon
This past week, a family friend from childhood was involved in a very serious motor vehicle accident that claimed the life of her sweet 7 year old daughter.
When things like this happen, especially to someone so young, to such a beautiful, good family, at a time of year where we celebrating so much, it makes you stop and ask “WHY”?
Why do these things happen?
Sure, there can be lots of deep philosophical reasons, or there can be many cynical ones. Or there can be no reason. We really don’t know the answer to most why’s.
The only comfort I can have is that through these tragedies, we can sometimes see the light shine a little bit stronger – even if it is only because there is so much darkness. We can look to the light and see the kindness of so many people who reach out to those who are struggling. We can see the faith and compassion that family and friends show. We can feel the support of complete strangers who sacrifice time, money and serve. We can build each other up and strengthen those in need through the power of prayer and fasting.
In the darkest time is usually when you see the most beautiful acts of charity and kindness; it is usually when you actually pay attention to the light.
And if we don’t see the light? Then we need to be that light. For ourselves, and for others.
I feel so terrible reading this about your childhood friend’s loss and recently my neighbor and his wife were in a very bad car accident. Thankfully they both survived, but my neighbor actually lost a limb because of this accident. He truly has such a great outlook though and cannot believe how quickly he has gotten back into the swing of his daily life still. The quote above totally applied to this recent event here, as well and we all definitely got a bit of a jolt from this and also saw a bit of light from this, too. Saying some prayers now for your friend and their family now, too.
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Our hearts are all so sad with the events of this past week. But you wrote so beautifully and we all thank you! and love you!
There are no words to describe the sadness of losing a child. This will be so hard for their family. Death always feels so permanent. It’s only in realizing that it is a temporary separation, that we can begin to heal. The knowledge of eternity can give peace of mind while our hearts remain broken, because of our loss. Sending prayers their way.