Jesus told the disciples, "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." John 16:33b NLT  Yesterday was a day of trial and sorrows for me and for my extended, biological family.  My cell phone rang at 3:04 a.m.  The screen read "Cheryl Marshall," who is my next older brother, Tom's wife.  I knew the news would not be good.  It was my brother, Tom.   He said  Jon, his son, had fallen that evening, broken his ankle and been taken to the hospital.  While in the emergency room,  Jon's heart stopped.  Jon has been dealing with cancer and side effects from it for more than twenty years.  (Two decades of trials and sorrows for Jon, and the family.)  The emergency room staff was able to get Jon's heart beating again, and Jon was taken to a medical intensive care unit and put into a medically induced coma.   I asked Tom if he wanted me to come "out." (They live in Dover, Ohio.)  He said, "I'm not going to tell you what to do." 

I sensed in his voice he wanted me to come.  Tom is fourteen years older than I am, and was always there for me when I was growing up.  Nancy agreed that I needed to go, so I showered, dressed and headed for Dover.  I arrived at Tom and Cheryl's house a couple minutes before Tom drove into the driveway.  He had come home from the hospital in Canton to take care of their dog and cat.  After we cared for the animals, I drove Tom back to the hospital.  Jon's  condition was the same.  The medical staff was doing everything they could, but it was obvious that the outcome was going to be more trial and sorrow.  Within several more hours Jon's condition worsened and his trials and sorrows came to end.  He died--to this life.  Jon was a believer--Jon IS a believer.  He is now experiencing joy and peace we can't even imagine.  But for us, the trials and sorrow continue.  Tom and Cheryl are devastated.  It is unnatural for parents to watch a child die.  Jon was forty-seven.  He lived nearly half of that time with cancer or its after effects.  Now, Tom and Cheryl grieve, but not as the rest of people who have no hope.  They grieve knowing that Jon has gone on to join Cheryl's parents and our parents, and so many others we don't know whose trials and sorrows have ended.

As a brother, uncle, and pastor I participated in the trials today, and in the sorrow.  I also got to participate in the hope we have as Jesus' followers.  It has been a very long day.  It's 7:27 p.m. on Wednesday as I sit in Tom and Cheryl's living room writing these words, and listening as Cheryl calls friends and relatives and breaks the sad news to them.  I'll schedule the post for 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, so you'll be reading this as Thursday's post.  I'll be starting the day in Dover, then driving home, rejoining my family for the night and driving back to Dover Friday for the funeral visitation and participating in the funeral service on Saturday.  Most, if not all, of us have been through this "drill."  We know what it is to have trials and sorrows.  The good news at times such as this is that Jesus Christ has trampled down death by His death, that for Jon there will be no more trials, no more sorrow, no more pain.  That's why we can say, "Thanks be to God!" even at times such as this.  We don't deny the trial and sorrow.  We don't pretend the trial and sorrow don't exist.  BUT--and this is key: but we know that death does not have the final victory:  JESUS DOES!  Whatever trials and sorrows you are facing today, my prayer is that you will know the peace and comfort of trusting in Jesus who has overcome the world!  That peace and comfort are literally what got us through today--and will get us through each day ahead.

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending Jesus to us to experience the trials and sorrows we experience--and to overcome them!  Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may hope in You no matter what we face today.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.