Words have escaped me since last Saturday. Last Saturday, I took Zach to a friend's birthday party, and by the time we got home, I was feeling sick. Really sick. Fever, chills, throat so sore I couldn't swallow. You guessed it - strep. I don't think I've ever had strep in my life. It was horrible. I felt horrible. It's the kind of horrible that you can't sleep because you feel SO BAD. That's where I was Saturday night. But being sick wasn't the only reason I couldn't sleep.
As a pastor, sometimes one call can change the whole course of your day, let alone your week. We got one of those Saturday evening. One of our young church members had lost his life in a regatta race off the coast of Alabama. (Read about it here.) To say it was a tragic death would be an understatement. We were both rocked to our core. Stewart performed their wedding, which happened to fall on our 11th wedding anniversary. Because of that, the couple had asked to sing together at the wedding, and we agreed.
As a pastor, sometimes one call can change the whole course of your day, let alone your week. We got one of those Saturday evening. One of our young church members had lost his life in a regatta race off the coast of Alabama. (Read about it here.) To say it was a tragic death would be an understatement. We were both rocked to our core. Stewart performed their wedding, which happened to fall on our 11th wedding anniversary. Because of that, the couple had asked to sing together at the wedding, and we agreed.
It was a special day - not only for them, but also for us. Stewart wrote this week that he was expecting to dedicate a baby sometime soon for this couple - not preach the husband's funeral. As I was trying to fall asleep Saturday night while horribly sick and horribly grieving, I could only pray one thing: "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." I don't know why that particular Psalm came to me. I don't know why that was all I could muster at the moment. But the Holy Spirit knew my heart and was interceding with me, I am sure. (Romans 8:26)
Stewart wound up preaching from Psalm 46 for the funeral service. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Folks, I can tell you that God has been a refuge and a rock this week. Countless prayers have been prayed for this family in this time of heartache, and they need to continue. But the prayers and kindness shown to this pastor's family have been so encouraging. When your pastor has a hard task ahead of him, don't forget to pray for him. He doesn't have it all together. He is not super-human. He struggles, too. His family is struggling along with him most of the time. Pray for you pastor! And if you can't muster anything else, just say, "Lead him to the Rock!"
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