You never let go

Claire's favorite song is "You Never Let Go" (by Jeremy Camp, although other artists sing it too).  She knows almost the entire first verse and she rocks the chorus.  When we leave the house she says, "Go in Mommy's car and play 'Oh no you never let go'!" because she knows the CD is in my car and not Josh's.  We both sing the song loudly and when it's over she says, "okay Mom, we can listen to your song now".  So sweet, so funny.

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

I pray that Claire grows up knowing that our God is one who never ever ever lets go of us, even when we experience trouble.  And trouble is something that I have seen far too much of lately.
It started in November when my colleague died just two days before we were both leaving for Asia. 
Then someone I work with became terminally ill.  On top of that, this person is now also dealing with very serious health issues with their child.  I am thankful that this colleague is also a believer and I can talk with him/her (protecting confidentiality, even though they are very open about their terminal illness), about faith, hope, and miracles.  
Josh has a colleague whose parents were visiting from Arizona right before Christmas.  On their drive back to Arizona, they got in a car accident and they both tragically died. 
On December 28th I learned that my dear childhood friend had passed away early that morning. Mikey grew up right next door to me and so many of my childhood memories include him. The last time I spent time with him was in 2001 in Budapest, Hungary, but I loved keeping up with him on Facebook because he was living in California.  I was honored to be able to read scripture at his funeral last weekend. The funeral was awful because he died far too young (just 34 years young).  Each day, I am praying for peace and comfort and hope and rest for his mother, father, sister and three brothers. 
Why so much death? Why so much grief? If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you'll probably know that I don't believe that "everything happens for a reason".  I can't help but cringe when I hear that phrase.  
We live in a fallen world. Our world is not free from gut-wrenching pain.  As Christians, we should not be surprised when we experience heartache or turmoil.  In fact, we should expect it.   Expecting to experience pain doesn't make it much easier but I think that some things can help.  Supportive, encouraging friends. Knowing people are praying for you. Reading, memorizing, reflecting on, sharing God's promises. Knowing that Jesus himself wept when his friend died (John 11:35) and that he truly relates to and understands our pain. Hope that we will be reunited with our loved ones again. 
I'm so thankful that God never lets go.  I'm so thankful that my precious two-year old daughter loves to proclaim that truth over and over again (even though she doesn't grasp what it means yet).  And I'm praying.  I'm praying for the loved ones of all of the people in my life who are experiencing heartache. 
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.John 16:33