Facing the grief

Today at school my co-worker Wendy Harley and I cried together several times as we tried to come to grips with the reality of the suicide I mentioned in my previous post. Our hearts were absolutely wrenched as we tried to imagine what our friend Dominique and her children are experiencing. This evening we decided to be brave and go visit the family. We are so very glad we did. There were others there too, including our friend Janice whose children had also come to our school when Wendy's and Dominique's children did. Dominque's son Chris, Wendy's daughter Heather, and Janice's son Matt were all in my worship team together. What a precious time we had this evening. Sometimes we cried, sometimes we laughed. We put our cell phones into action and organized a group of these kids to come home from their respective colleges to sing a favorite song from the past at the funeral on Saturday.

At a time when there seem to be no answers, we did experience some moments of joy and the sense of what it is to be UTTERLY dependent upon the Lord. As they come to your minds over the next days and weeks, please pray for Dominique Black and her four children, Chris, Jennifer, Daniel, and James.

This morning on my way to school, as I was asking the Lord how to handle the heaviness in my heart, I remembered a song. Here are the lyrics:

I Will Sing by Don Moen

Lord, You seem so far away,
A million miles or more, it feels today.
And though I haven't lost my faith,
I must confess right now
That it's hard for me to pray.
But I don't know what to say,
And I don't know where to start,
But as You give the grace,
With all that's in my heart,

I will sing! I will praise!
Even in the darkest hour,
Through the sorrow and the pain,
I will sing! I will praise!
Lift my hands to honor You,
Because Your word is true,
I will sing!