"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Okay. This must be the place where we typically meet for our little time of visiting. Welcome once again on this Tuesday, March 20, 2012. It is amazing how things work at times. Don't you agree? A few years ago Rodney, our youngest, and I began trying to make sense of what looked like a rather fuzzy mosaic of our family connections. Many folks are doing that these days. My dad passed away in 1954. He had a twin brother. In our search I barely missed making connection with my uncle. He had passed away just a couple of months before I finally located his information. I did, however, make contact with his son, David. We visited a number of times by telephone. He is, after all, my first cousin. We had pictures from 1953 to prove that we actually had seen each other on a trip my family made from Port Arthur, Texas over to Fort Benning, Georgia. After exchanging some wonderful correspondence and photos, we more or less moved on, me doing my thing and him doing his. One of his daughters Tammy stayed in touch, mostly with Rodney, through email and Facebook. Early last week I saw folks giving condolences on Tammy's FB page. Come to find out, her older sister, Jessica, had been killed in an accident. Jessica was 34 and the mother of 3 year old twins, a boy and a girl. What a horrific tragedy. Because of us staying in touch with Tammy, I was able to call David and offer our prayers and support. As they used to say back home, our family has had its fair share. I was able to encourage him, not because I've lost a grown child, but because of the God who has been faithful to our family throughout our many times of grief and loss. Please say a prayer for this family, especially Jessica's husband, Shane, who was devoted to her, and for these beautiful children, (Annabelle and Bishop) who have lost their mom. May God move in a special way to make His comfort known at this time to all of those touched by this loss. Amen.

One thing we learn in life is that people pretty much hurt the same when they have suffered the loss of a loved one. They tell me that Jessica had a really hard time birthing the twins. Seeing the beautiful family photos on her Facebook page makes me aware of how much she and her husband loved each other and those children. The other day our granddaughter Lexie put up a note of remembrance for a girl she had cheered with. The girl's mom had come to school to pick her up. She was in line. As the girl got into the car, another lady waiting across the way suffered a seizure and her foot slammed down on the accelerator. She crashed into the little girl's car, killing the girl and injuring the mother. My son told me the entire neighborhood was in shock. One thing we know, that while we can't make sense of how Jessica left this life so suddenly and so soon, or how a little girl minding her own business lost her life in a bizarre incident, we can, seek God, not for the answer, but for His provision. Does God really care? I can't help but remember our Savior, Jesus, standing outside of the grave of Lazarus. People had surrounded that place and they were wailing with sorrow and grief. Jesus saw them. His heart went out to them and we are told simply this: Jesus wept. Yes. He knew He was going to raise up Lazarus from the dead but He cared when He saw others crying their hearts out. (Gospel of John, Chapter 11) That we can be sure of. He cares. In the end, there's really no adequate answer we can put forth for these losses, but we can find rest for our weary hearts in Him.  Amen.

Ever feel like life is not so much like a box of chocolates but rather it's more like a roller coaster ride? I'm not sure I have either but it came to mind therefore I think it does make some kind of a point. Maybe its the ups and downs, the sudden changes, the times of exhilaration punctuated by moments of sheer terror. And, perhaps that's way over the top but it is true that we never know exactly what a day may bring. Earlier this month on the anniversary of his death I thought about my older brother Jimmy Don. He died 50 years ago but the memories are still etched in my mind. I was 15 when he left us. I remember his funeral procession. I was riding near the front and I looked back through the rear window as we came up a hill, and I could see a long stretch of highway behind us. There were cars as far as the eye could see. It looked like some kind of convoy. It was a strange sight for that small town. That stuck in my mind. So many cars with so many people. God cares and people care also. I suppose we can't be much closer to showing the love of God than when we reach out to those who are hurting and humbled by their grief. It is a part of life and because most of us have been there, we can, at least in some ways identify with others when they face life's saddest challenge. In fact, this is exactly the sentiment expressed by the Apostle Paul when he penned the words I copied and used in today's title. Go back and read it again and be encouraged that God is the ultimate Comforter but we can also become His hands of comfort to others. Have a great Tuesday and may God bless each one. Amen.      .....More later.