Friday, March 02, 2007

Making sense of what doesn't make sense

Less than nine months ago, my family stood in line in the lobby of Hillcrest Baptist Church along with dozens of other people to visit the family of Chris and Leah Walls (see previous posts) and file past the caskets containing their remains and those of their children.
We waited in line with a whole lot of people who didn't know us from Adam and probably wondered aloud why in the world would we bring a nine-month-old to a visitation.
Somehow, probably, we hoped Leah would see the child she'd prayed would come our way. We certainly wanted her family to know how much her support meant.
As I watched the footage roll in from Enterprise, Ala., Thursday, I noticed the unmistakable roof line of a modest-size, brick building which looked like a church. A map search confirmed what I thought - Hillcrest was again at the center of a tragedy, only this time, much bigger in scope at least in the number of people killed.
I think back now to the faces of the people I stood in line with on that balmy Friday night in southeast Alabama and I wonder - Are these now grieving grandparents, or intended rescuers who only found bodies or people who reunited a child and a parent or friends who are now turning to one another for comfort?
Did the Walls' deaths somehow prepare this town for even more sorrow? Is that even possible? Am I still grasping for something which will make their loss make sense? Yes, very likely.
But in both sets of circumstances, I continue to pray the Lord will do his bidding in these times of uncertainty and grief and that the sense of community I felt in that church would extend beyond its walls to a hurting Enterprise.
And I pray that the well-meaning people who've pulled satellite trucks to this community would do more than report about the horror. Maybe when the feed is offline, you could help someone lift a board, or listen - off-the-record - to a hurting family, or give a cup of water to those working the scene. They need more than 15 seconds of fame in Enterprise right now.
These are hard-working, dedicated, God-fearing, salt-of-the-earth people who probably don't respond well to pity. But they will listen to a helping hand. Let's all do what we can for these folks, even if for now it's just to pray.

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