Rites of Passage — Column by Mark Martinez
I had not planned on submitting this month’s column on the topic of tragedy. I had something completely different prepared to submit. However, sometimes events in life compel us to change course, even if for just a while.
Sunday, in our beautiful peaceful town of Coeur d’Alene, an unexpected tragedy struck. As I pen this story, we know that two firefighters lost their lives, and another was wounded when they were ambushed by a rogue sniper. More details will be forthcoming in the days ahead. What we do know, for sure, is nobody expected this to happen.
Not our firefighters. Not our police officers. Not our community. Certainly not the families of the fallen who are left behind, having to navigate the broken pieces of their now-shattered lives. My heart breaks and my prayers go out to them.
Here is the bitter truth about the broken world we live in: tragedy will strike ALL of us. Without exception. Many reading these words will already have experienced it, and some surely more than others. For the rest, your time is coming. I don’t state this as a “cautionary doomsdayer”.
Rather, so that when the time comes, the brokenness and confusion might be mitigated. To be clear, life is wonderful, it’s beautiful and it’s truly worth living. Nothing that happens in this life should warrant taking our own life prematurely. Instead, when we know that hard times will come, it’s best if we have thought about a plan in advance.
For my preteens and teens that are reading this, tragedy can come in many forms. The divorce or abandonment of parents. Unexpected health issues. Peer pressure and bullying. Feelings of isolation, low self-worth and depression. Broken relationships, or the death of a loved one. For adults, this can also include loss of a job, financial ruin, or poor judgment which can lead to addiction, incarceration, or character compromise. So how does one “plan in advance” for such tragedies as these? Let me offer up this thought.
We were not meant for this world.
“What does that mean?” you may ask. What I mean is that we, as living beings, do not have an existence which starts and ends with life on earth. I believe that we are spiritual beings who, for a season, occupy physical bodies in this world. Once our physical body is extinguished, our existence continues on. As a result, we should not allow the challenges and tragedies of this world to define us or determine our joy.
“That sounds like Bible teaching”, you may claim. Well, as a matter of fact it is. It is via the awareness of our mind that an honest ponderer of truth must reconcile where we came from and where we are going. Is there anything in life that is worthy of greater consideration? I think not. As well, is there any better answer to this question than what is recorded in the Bible? I have not found any. From this perspective, let me attempt to make sense of this concept of tragedy and its role in our human earthly experience.
- First, understand the Person of God, His plans for us as humans, and our eternal destination. Need help? Visit http://www.GotQuestions.org for assistance.
- Know that the rain falls and the sun shines on both good and evil alike. No matter who we are, we all experience beautiful wonder as well as brokenness in this world.
- Personal tragedy can draw us either closer to or further from God. It’s up to each of us to choose which direction to press into.
- Oftentimes our own tragedies equip us to comfort others who will go through the same or similar things.
- Time on this earth is such a small measure in the scale of eternity. The choices we make on earth set us up for that eternity.
- We will all suffer the loss (death) of loved ones. It’s inevitable. None of us escapes this, as well as our own death. Yet, in very few instances do we expect when that time will come. So here is my advice:
- Make sure you plan for your eternity. That is where you will spend the vast majority of your existence. Know where your spirit will continue existing after it has left your body.
- Don’t waste a single opportunity to make your life or the life of someone else better.
- Attempt to reconcile any broken relationships that are important to you, as much as this depends on you. You never know when you may never see them again.
- Grieve the tragedies in your life when they come but know that the pain doesn’t last forever. Yes, you will always bear the scar of loss, but the pain becomes tolerable after a while, and this allows you to move forward.
Finally, don’t forget to be thankful for right now. Appreciate what’s in front of you, and don’t get consumed by the things you can’t control. All you really have is today. As the saying goes:
“Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, all you have is Today, which is why it’s called the Present.”
