Today I come before you all to talk rather openly and honestly about
something that has been on my mind for a while now, especially in light
of recent events. Now, normally, Kevin L Neff and His Random Rants is a
place where uplifting, quirky, and funny times are had. While my aim
here with this post is to inspire hope, I hope you understand that I am
going to speak quite passionately about an unpleasant topic that I have
always struggled with...
When children die.
I
am not talking just about sickness here. I am talking about when, due
to the carelessness of others, children are killed. This happens
indirectly, for example, in war-torn countries where civilian casualties
are common, and directly, like a drunk/distracted driver or disturbed
adult.
Please understand... I know all about the Plan
of Salvation. I know that little children are granted Celestial glory if
their lives are cut short. (And it's not like I am okay with adults
dying, either.) Yet, for some reason, there is perhaps no
other occasion when I want more to raise my fists to the sky and shout,
"What the heck is the matter with this stupid world?!" than when I hear
of yet another child dying. You see, I don't handle that well. I have
never handled it well. Of course, I don't have children of my own, and
I've never had a tragedy like this occur in my own family... but that
doesn't matter.
You see, when a child's life is taken
from them, you are not only hurting their loved ones. You are not only
taking from them THEIR future, you are taking away everyone's future.
For all you know, that child could have been the one to fix this broken,
broken world. That child could have made music, or become a teacher, a
worker, a friend, a parent... so much potential extinguished.
But
you know, regardless of the above reasons, I guess what I hate the most
about these kinds of things is that there is no easy answer. There is
no instant solution, some band-aid to make it better. I don't understand
what it feels like, so it's hard to know what to do to help. There's
nothing you can say; nothing you can do to really help someone who is
suffering the loss of a child. I don't understand it, and I don't know
if I ever will in this life. Sometimes, when it's a drunk/careless
driver, or a negligent/abusive parent, we immediately desire
retribution; for the offender to suffer more-so than they who originally
suffered the loss. Some people sue the perpetrator, as if some monetary
amount is going to bring the child back to life. Some people demand the
death sentence. It seems justified, after all.
However,
suffering compounded with suffering does not amount to healing; it only
yields more sorrow. And, for every person responsible for the death of a
child, purposefully or not, there are so many more children who die
without any justice at all. There is not enough justice to fix the
broken world. My heart breaks for these families, friends, and mentors
of these children... and I just hate not being able to do anything about
it. I hate feeling so helpless.
And... in a weird
way... that's the beauty of it. I am not called upon to render justice
upon anyone, even if I wanted to. I am powerless to turn back the clocks
and prevent these kinds of tragedies. Even if I could hear the cries of
every person and see every tear shed by every living person, I am just
one man. I barely have the power to reach out to those precious few
close to me, much less an entire world. Even though my heart breaks,
that isn't enough to help anyone heal. I have to put all of my trust,
all of my hope, all of my heartache into the hands of Someone who does
know EXACTLY how it feels, and how to make it right.
Sure,
this world-- as it stands now-- is broken. Children die, families are
torn apart, and senseless wars rage upon the face of the Earth. Who on
this broken planet, with so many broken people, can really put us all
back together?
Interestingly enough, no one is going to do that. No one is going to put us all back to the way things were.
You
see, while I don't know everything, I do know this: He who is perfectly
acquainted with the sorrows and sicknesses of all people is not
interested in just putting the pieces to our lives back where they go.
No, He is interested in a far greater mission... to put us together,
with Him as the master carpenter, as something better than what we were
before. This world will continue to break until it shatters, but will be
someday rebuilt as an eternal paradise. People who break down under the
weights of poverty, illness, and whatever else during this life will be
rebuilt as kings and queens in the next.
Most
importantly, broken families who lose these dear, dear children will be
put back together... to never, ever be separated again.
