Shock! Sadness! Lament! Even the Flowers Are Crying!

Prayer!

This past week a tragic accident happened. A family from Keene United Church were almost all wiped out. Jon, Stephanie and teenage son, Riddick, died in the crash. Only their daughter, Rowghan, also a teen, has survived. She is at Sick Kids hospital with multiple injuries.

We want desperately to turn back the clock, to change what happened. We cry out to God. Why? Why? There are no answers. We know our loving God is crying with us all. The driver of the other vehicle also died in the crash. That family suffers too. Grief overwhelms us all. Rowghan and her grandparents, Jim and Donna, and the family of the driver of the truck, all need our prayers.

I believe in the power of prayer. We know God is not Mr. Fix It. Our prayers will not change what has happened. Our prayers can bring support and strength to those who grieve. Our faith tells us that God is with these families, crying with them, sharing their grief. The shortest but to me, most vivid sentence in the Bible is, “Jesus wept.” When his friend, Lazarus, died, Jesus wept with Lazarus’ family. We are all weeping at this tragedy. Let us hold these families in prayer. We can send our love, our energy and our care as we cry with them.

Let us pray,

Gracious and loving God, today we send our love and our tears to Rowghan, to Donna and Jim, her grandparents, and to the family of the driver of the truck. Give them the strength they need to grieve and continue living. God, we believe you are crying with them and all of us. Open us all to receive the comfort that you offer.

We entrust Rowghan to you. We know your healing power is in the hands, the hearts and the skill of the doctors and nurses at Sick Childrens’ Hospital, caring for Rowghan. Surround them all with loving people to lean on.

(Maintain silence and stillness as you consciously send your love and strength. Imagine the flow of energy from you to all of them. Let your knowledge of each person involved flow through your mind.)

Thank you, God, that Jon, Stephanie and Riddick, have been part of our lives. Thank you for all the joy we have received through them. You blessed them with so many life gifts and talents that they shared with us. We are grateful for having known them. We remember the truck driver whom we did not know. We give you thanks for his life and all that he shared with his family and friends.

Strengthen our faith so we can care for all of them. We pray as followers of Jesus. Amen.