Lompoc Feels the Pain

A week has past since our Harvest Party Night, had LFC doing what it does so well - serving our community. Our Harvest Block Party was a huge success, with well over 1,200 people attending - the laughter, games, climbing wall, jump houses, slides all stood in sharp contrast to the loss of life going on at the other end of town. Three young people were involved in a horrendous automobile crash. At the same time I was being notified of what was taking place away from our property and the loss of young life - I was watching families with smiles on their faces, enjoy the festivities here. Children where climbing, crafting, costuming and enjoying all the fun that was being provided for them by the great people of LFC and of course, there was lots of candy, all for free. While we are praying for the Fabing and Terrones families these days and for Darrell Solario as he makes progress in the hospital - we are praying that the memorial services today and later this week will impact lives for the Lord.
Life is filled with contrasts. On the one side, you have tragedy and on the other side you have laughter. Sometimes it is planting and others times harvest. Some days are filled with joy and fun and other days news are met with the unexpected loss of life that hit you like a ton of bricks. It is the same way with Harvest - some people use Halloween as a time for demonic or unwholesome activities and others, like LFC, utilize the time to celebrate Harvest and offer a wholesome and fun alternative. While death happens (as tragic as it is) life happens too. We are touched by the loss of young life and also blessed by a God who is there in the midst of tragedy. We choose to make the most of every opportunity and bless others in the midst of all that happens.
1. Accidents and even tragedy are a part of life in a fallen world.The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they brought sin into the world and terrible things followed. Cain, the very first human baby, grew up to become the very first human murderer (see Genesis 4:1-8). And accidents have plagued human kind ever since.Paul suffered through at least as many accidents and hardships as any of us ever will, and yet their painful occurrence never shook his confidence in a good, loving God. Jesus, told us to expect pain and difficulties in this life. "In this world you will have trouble," He warned His disciples in John 16:33. And to the public at large, He said this about the future: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matthew 24:7). It isn't a pleasant thought, but that's the way life is sometimes in this fallen world. It may shock us, but it shouldn't surprise us. Life is fragile and there are things that are just plain difficult to explain. Tragedies are always agonizing and often senseless. But thank God, that is not where the story ends.
2. God is in control, even when it doesn't seem like it. God does not cause crashes - but He is there in the midst of them. He is never thrown a curve ball that He cannot handle. The Bible insists that God is in control (sovereign), that "His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation... We may not fully understand how this can be when we face painful tragedies, but our lack of understanding does not diminish or destroy the truth that God is in control. Before we were born, God knew exactly how long we would live and how we would die. "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be," the psalmist said to God in Psalm 139:16.
3. God can turn the bad into good - the dark into light. From our perspective, tragedies look meaningless and senseless and chaotic, but God knows how to take even tragedies and bring good out of them. We may not understand what His purposes are, but we can take comfort in the fact that even in the darkness - God can bring light. God specializes in taking evil and bringing good out of it. God can take a simple Harvest Party, like ours and use it to bring someone to Himself. He can take the joy and laughter and allow it to bring healing and He can take the darkness of an accident and bring young people and entire families to Himself. He does not cause the accident but uses it for His glory.
4. Tragedy can serve as a wake-up call. It reminds us that we are not going to live forever on plant earth. C. S. Lewis wrote that "pain is God's megaphone to a deaf world." In that way, some tragedies may serve as wake-up calls for spiritually sleeping people. When "tough stuff" happens, we are faced with dealing with our own lives, our faith and our eternities. Young people are living in the shock and drama of the moments and will need love and prayer - but many of them will look to God and find Him. Let's pray that the wake-up call will be heard.
5. We can embrace hope even in the midst of tragedy.Without God and the hope that He offers, life is dark and draining.There is hope in heaven and the peace that God provides for us is amazing. Don't miss His hope. No matter where you are in life - if you know the families touched by the tragedy or not - there is hope for you no matter what you are facing. We grieve when those we love are taken from us, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. We do not believe that people cease to exist when they die; the Bible tells us that we will again see all those loved ones who put their faith in Christ. Hope is readily available to all of us, even in the midst of tragedy. And not only hope for eternal life - Hope is available right now, square in the middle of tragedy, because God has promised to walk with us through any disaster that might overtake us.