Back From A Long Hiatus

It's been awhile since I've written anything...and there's a couple of reasons for that. First, I haven't had a lot to write that I thought would interest either of y'all. Secondly, I haven't really been in the mood. I guess they call that "Writer's Block"...but since I've never really thought of myself as a "writer," I don't know if that term is applicable.

This past Friday was a sad day for us on the ACU campus. Wayne Miller, who worked over in the First Year program, died after a short battle with Pancreatitis (sp?). (On a side note, as a freshman in college I remember my biology professor saying there was fewer things the human body could encounter that would be more painful than a bout of Pancreatitis...because it literally eats away at the other organs with its digestive enzymes -- YUCK!).

I met Wayne while we were students at ACU. I didn't know him well...though I do remember an evening when he, I, and three other random folks who were void of dates on a Friday night played a rigorous foosball tournament in the basement of the Campus Center. I don't remember much else about the evening...only that we all had a good time being together.

Wayne and I got reacquainted this last Fall as our sons played soccer together. Together he and I would endure one-hour increments of watching a herd of 10 kids follow a ball around the field. Wayne's son, Alex, didn't want to play at first. In fact he hated even coming to practice. I know how agitated and even embarrassed Wayne was at the predicament...to the point that he announced to me they were quitting.

So it was a real joy a couple of weeks later to see Wayne and Alex show up for our Saturday game...and even more of a joy to see the smile on Wayne's face when he saw Alex actually score a goal!

I guess now Wayne will have a "sky box" seat to watch Alex and his other three sons grow up. I don't know why God allows bad things to happen to good people -- as Wayne really was the epitome of "good people." I don't know why four boys and a wife are left to fend for themselves. I can't look at the picture of my three boys on my desk without tearing up at the thought of missing out on their lives. I guess the entire book of "Job" seeks the answer to the question "WHY?"...and in the end we're left with a God that reminds us that He was here in the beginning, He is still here today, and He will be here when the end comes. And that's a pretty reassuring thought.

But maybe it calls us into service as God's people. Today at 6:30PM there will be a memorial service at the University Church of Christ as folks remember Wayne and say their final good-byes. Then 99% of that crowd will go back to their homes and resume their lives. But one family will go home husbandless and fatherless...and one mother will try to pull the weight of two.

So maybe God allows this to happen so that we can put our faith into practice. Maybe a community has the opportunity to help raise four young men and rally behind a mother who is struggling with the same questions that Job had? Maybe...no, DEFINITELY God has a plan, and I need to be open to being apart of it.

Whatever the case, if you're reading this PLEASE lift this family up to the Father in prayer.