Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Mom Can’t Die Now

Leaning close to his mother's ear, Chad whispered, "I don't want you to die. I miss you already." Realizing there would be no response from Mom, Chad bowed his head. "Lord, I want You to perform a miracle and heal my mother. But if You choose not to do it, tell me now. I can't stand to see her this way." Feeling exhausted in every way, Chad leaned back in the chair and fell asleep.

Early that afternoon, the family invited Pastor O'Neill and close friends to gather around Margaret for prayer. Chad, however, declined the invitation. He waited outside with some others, staying close to Doug Shaw. "This really isn't happening, Doug, not to me. Mom can't die now; she just can't. She has to be here when I graduate and go off to college. We have so many plans. She just can't die. It isn't fair." "I'm so sorry you won't have your mother to share in all of that, Chad," Doug consoled. "What else have you been feeling?"

Chad hesitated. "Sometimes I feel mad. Is that wrong?" Doug patted the young man's shoulder, “Anger is a common, normal reaction. Tell me about it." "I'm mad at the other driver for letting his truck cross the center line. And why doesn't the county have wider roads? Maybe Mom could have swerved around the truck. And I'm a little mad at God for letting this happen. He could have kept that truck from crossing the line. Why didn't He? The truck could have hit someone else's car, someone who didn't have any children." Doug nodded. "It's hard to understand why it happened this way, isn't it?"

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