A walk through the monuments reveals how short life used to be. So many infants and young children succumbed to illnesses that today are easily cured or perhaps no longer exist. Losing a child or children in the United States was not uncommon in the 19th Century. But now, it is relatively rare. We almost lost two of our children in infancy due to prematurity, but modern medicine and the will of God prevailed. Now, they are adults.
Yet, babies and children still die occasionally...whether by natural causes or accidents, and we all grieve with the families, and some of us wonder why such precious lives are cut so short.
A well-known Alabama radio show commentator lost his two-year-old son less than two weeks ago, and his family's strength has been a testimony to hundreds of thousands of people. During the memorial service, Rick Burgess testified about the source of their strength and how his son's death has challenged him to go to the next level of his Christian faith. He challenges other believers as well. The service was videotaped, and a friend uploaded it to YouTube. The first part of "A Father's Heart" has already experienced more than 400,000 hits, and parts 2 and 3 have more than 200,000 visits and are just as inspirational.
Many Selmians listen to the syndicated radio program, and the YouTube video link is traveling rapidly through our email service providers. The way this father has responded to the death of his youngest son was the subject of many Sunday School and Bible study meetings last week.
(I am posting yesterday's post on Wednesday since we lost power due to high winds last night.)