The curveballs started right away with the unexpected loss of a member of the British team on a hike. We found out the day before leaving Bergen for Skjolden and were rocked to our core. We didn't really know what we were going into or how to react. But we did know that as Christians we were called to grieve with those who grieve and mourn with those who mourn. That was what we were supposed to do, but how does that look? What do we do when walking into a situation of loss?
We entered the week learning about gospel centered living knowing that these lessons were more prevalent now than ever. If the gospel wasn't essential in loss, then when was it? God gave us the gospel for times such as these. He sent his son to die for us so that we may be with him for eternity.
The week became harder when one of our team members lost a friend and we were further confronted with loss. The events of the week forced us to ask tough questions that we may have otherwise swept under the rug. We discussed God's goodness in light of bad situations and how we can trust in his plan when things seem so out of control.
All of these lessons were tested half-way into the summer when one of our team mates lost her mother. I was forced to confront the mortality of my friends and family as well as myself. Life is fragile and precious and a gift, but we were seeing the precious gift of life ending all around us. I cried out to God, wondering how something good could come from all of our loss and pleading for God to do just that. I wanted for their to be a purpose for the suffering that my team was enduring. My heart was breaking for my team, and the loss was forcing me to confront fears of losing people in my own life. I clung to Jeremiah 29:11 and that God had a plan for these events and that they were for our prosperity.
Looking back, the losses of the summer made the lessons that much sweeter. In the movie Shadowlands, Anthony Hopkins's character, C.S. Lewis, says that the happiness now is a part of the pain then and also that the reverse is true. This was so prevalent throughout the summer. The pain and loss that we were experiencing was making the lessons of God's love and sacrifice that much sweeter. I sought more on God's character and who He is in order to confront the questions of His goodness.
Trusting God in the easy parts of life is, well, easy. It's when life gets challenging that it gets difficult to trust in God's goodness and his plan. The losses this summer taught me to value the relationships that I have and have them be genuine, not surface level, but to care for people and their souls too. Life is fragile and part of caring for people is caring for them physically, but also spiritually. It is so easy to take advantage of our life now, but it could change in an instant. Loss is a reality and a person's character is really shown through how they handle loss.
As tough as the lessons of the loss were, we had some really sweet times as a result of them. Experiencing the loss together bonded us as a team. It also gave us ties to connect with the community. We were also completely surrounded in prayer. People from all over the world were praying for us and our team. We had prayers from friends, but also from complete strangers as well. I know that God had a plan for our experiences and he probably isn't done with teaching me through the tragedies of the summer. God answered my prayers and taught me and had a purpose for these events and his purpose continues past the limits of Skjolden, Norway.
What I learned through the loss:
- Pray for the people in my life now, there may not be a later
- Trust in God's plan - he has one, even if I don't
- Know that God is good, even if bad things happen
- Invest in the people around you, they may not be there forever
- Life is a precious gift and is fragile, but we must live it for His glory
- If the gospel is not essential in times of grief, when is it?
- grieving is hard and it is done differently in different cultures, but relying on God in our grief is universal and letting God use our grief is essential
