She had barely closed the door when I heard “Mom?” She wanted to know if I was home…

…and I called back a greeting to my girl.

She came up the stairs telling me about the last few days and proceeded to talk until she looked at my face. And then she saw it.

“Mom” (she said it with 2 syllables)….”what’s wrong?!”

I had heard news of a great loss of a friend from years gone by. Her 17 year old daughter was in a car wreck and had passed away on Sunday.

Unthinkable. Totally.  Too much.

And I guess it was all over my face. Tears are indicators of something for sure.

I didn’t even know the sweet girl whose family is grieving. It’s only been through social media that I’ve been invited in to see this girls’ life and her interactions with her family. I cannot even imagine the pain that her family and friends are experiencing, and felt the weight of what they were going through.

I know tragedy happens. I do. I know it in my life. I know it in others’ lives. We see it on the news everyday.

But sometimes it still shocks us.  It can rock us to the core…the absolute core.

One of my all time favorite quotes is what Frederick Beuchner once said.

“Here is the world.

Beautiful and terrible things will happen.

Don’t be afraid.”

The amazing thing is these things can even happen hand in hand, these beautiful and terrible things. And one thing can sometimes bring about the other. One beautiful thing is that we are not alone. The Bible says, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome.” We can  invite the King of all Creation to enter in as He calls us to Him.

Just like my girl came home and called, “Mom?” well, we can walk and run and jump into any situation and call upon God to enter in.  She didn’t know if I was home…but we can know that He’s always home, always there, ever present. He loves us and calls us to see the beauty in this world, because He calls us to see Him. He can use all things to draw us to Him.  All things.

A song that I’ve had on repeat for weeks is “Another in the Fire”. It’s an amazing song. I especially love the acoustic version and am so thankful for the truth of the words that ring throughout the song to remind us that we are not alone.  At all. Ever.

Wherever we are, we can ask God to enter in. He can enter in to any situation and change things and draw us near and even change us.

Romans 8:38-39 says “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s a beautiful and amazing truth.

There’s another in the fire, in the storm, in the crowd.  There’s another in the circumstances we face…and He loves us right where we are.There’s another in the quiet, in the chaos, in the peace,and even in the deepest of grief. Praying my friend and her family so feel His presence even in the midst of great loss. Hoping and praying that wherever we go, we’d be reminded to call upon His name and ask Him to enter in. Wherever. Whenever. His grace changes everything. There’s another in the fire.

Blessings ~

Heather

P.S. The song is awesome…please click the link if you have a few minutes.