He Knows the Way

Like Job there have been plenty of times for most of us when God seemed hard to figure out and even harder to find. When things happen that don’t make sense, we are most naturally baffled and left with the emotional pieces that don’t fit the puzzle. Sometimes we are tempted to throw those pieces away, but I have learned if we just wait, sometimes we come to see how things fit together later, sometimes much later. Job went through a time when he couldn’t make sense out of his life, and furthermore, he could not find God. In that terrible moment Job’s response is worth remembering: “But he (God) knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:8-10). Some things are beyond our understanding, and we will only be more exasperated by our pursuit to fathom the unknowable.

This week I felt like that when I received word that a very good friend, Lina Zelarayan Tracol died giving birth to her second child. My mind cried out to God and asked, “Where is God in this?” But, my heart said, “He knows the way.” My immediate reaction was to do something to make things right, but there was nothing that could be done. I am face to face with my incredible helplessness. Whatever injustices we face in this life, they demand a desire for justice. However, there is only one who can right all our wrongs. There is only one who knows the way. My task is simply to trust him even when it doesn’t make sense.

When you lose someone you are close to, it does make you reflect on what is important. So from this deep sense of loss, I take a new sense of gratitude for what God has given me. I have a faithful wife of 44 years, a beautiful daughter and her family, two incredible sons and their families. So I have asked God to help me hold them loosely because they belong to him—not me. However, while I am here, I want to love and treasure them.

All of us who knew Lina were touched by her life. She loved God and served him faithfully. She wanted a family, and God gave her a beautiful family. We don’t know why this happened that she should not be allowed to enjoy her little family, and our hearts are saddened by her sudden and untimely death. We now must pray for her husband Clement and her daughter Juliette and little son Benjamin. God knows the way for Clement and his family.

https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/inmemoryoflina