The grief is
a mist that permeates the very walls of their home. Every breath, every heartbeat is saturated
with it. There are so many ways that she
and her sister differ, but the grief overwhelms them equally. They handle it differently, though. The tears, the gasping for breath are the
same, but the places are different. She wants
to pummel something, preferably dough for bread. But the ‘helpers’ had overtaken her
kitchen. They said that they are
helping, but she wants them out of her space.
They won’t leave, though. They
cook for her. They clean for her. They eat her food and sleep in her beds. They are there to help, but there is no help
to be had. Why won’t they just leave?!
Then she sees
Him coming. The One who was supposed to
be here over a week ago. Where has He
been? What was more important than being
there for a friend? How could anything
be more important than a promise? She
runs out to meet Him.
“Where have
You been? Why weren’t You here? We sent for You?” she cries. But her heart begs for answers to a much more
painful questions. Where were You when I
needed You? Do I matter so little to
You? Is this how You treat a
friend? I thought I was Your friend!
He answers
that this is not the end… Great. Yeah, we will have an eternity together. Thanks…
That really helps now. That
answer might have worked a week ago.
Now? It’s just letters strung
together to make words, then words strung together to make a sentence.
If my
friend, Duane, had been there in that moment, he might have said something to
Martha that he texted me the other night.
“He’s got
this.”
You see,
those aren’t just letters, words or a sentence.
It’s a promise. He knows. He cares.
And He’s going to do something about it.
That was the bleakest moment of Martha’s life. She thought the days before had been hard,
but watching the only One who could have changed the circumstances walk in
late? No, that made it even darker. Because those doubts that had been hidden or
explained away almost destroyed her when He walked toward the house. It was too late and He hadn’t cared enough to
get there any earlier. That’s as dark as
it gets.
And yet, by
nightfall, everything had changed. The
sun had risen, her brother was somehow with her again and those painful
questions had disappeared. Because it
hadn’t been too late. He was right on
time. He had it handled.
So when it’s
darker than ever and those doubts, those questions are getting harder and more
painful?
He’s got
this.
