Dealing with the death of a child

In "The Good and Beautiful God," author James Bryan Smith shares his reflections on his daughter Madeline's death:

My mind went over the last few years, thinking about the pain of hearing the news from the doctors, the countless sleepless nights on hospital floors, and the dark and rainy day we placed her body in the earth. I turned to God and said, without thinking, 'Maybe it would have been better if she had never been born.'

That was when I received one of the clearest experiences of God responding to me that I've ever had in my life. On this day, at that moment, a little voice penetrated my mind, the voice of a little girl, a voice I had never heard but immediately recognized as Madeline's. 'Daddy, you should never say that. If I had never been born, I would not be here now. I am so happy here in heaven, and one day you and Mom and Jacob will come and see me, and we will live forever together. And there is more good that has happened because of me that you can't see now but will one day understand.'

I immediately repented of my despicable thoughts and crumpled to the ground in tears. I was thankful to hear such words.

There is always the promise of heaven.

The death of a child bringing glory to God

On. pp. 137-138 of "Starting Well: Building a Strong Foundation for a Lifetime of Ministry," there is a sad story about a man who was a pastor and had a sick daughter. He had heard from God, who said that He was going to use the man's daughter to bring glory to His name. The daughter died.

...God uses situations, like his daughter's death, to shape his leaders. God was shaping him. He said that on the day she died, he remembered something that we had said in September about responding to God in a crisis. He chose to go deep with God. He knows that God is with him in the pain. God is providing strength for him. He is experiencing God's love in a new way.

At the end of our conversation, he said one thing that I'll never forget. He said, 'God was right when He said that He was going to receive glory through my daughter. At the time that God told me that, I thought He was talking about healing my daughter. I didn't realize that God was talking about my response to Him in this situation. My choosing to embrace the pain and to embrace God (going deep with God) is the means God is using to receive glory. My response in this situation is speaking louder than any words I've ever preached about God.' We embraced again and I was deeply moved.

This story is about the power of perspective. This precious pastor chose to embrace God and learn about Him. The situation that the pastor and his family are facing together is tragic and it hurts. He said that he (and his family) were still in the process of grieving her loss. We don't understand why God allows certain things to happen. But when we face crisis situations or difficult and challenging situations, we must respond. We can go deep into God or we can turn from Him.

This story reminds me of my friends, Tom and Deb Henderson, who lost their son Ian this year. I have heard stories of people finding God through seeing their response to the tragic situation.

A $1.2 million "bling-bling" funeral?

I know that having a funeral can be expensive, but apparently one funeral operator in Jamaica has taken it to the extreme. Tommy Thompson, chief executive officer of Brite Lite Funeral Services, offers funerals that celebrate a person's passing with:

• bumper stickers
• colored T-shirts
• buttons
• helium balloons
• glass coffins
• chariots
• stretch limousines

The last three items are part of his "bling-bling" funeral, which costs $1.2 million. Thompson explained his reasoning to the Jamaica Gleaner:

'I was in Miami thinking about everything in my life, when God spoke to me, saying that death was to be celebrated. As a man of Christian faith, I took the message very seriously,' he claimed.

Thompson is said to have revolutionized the funeral industry in Jamaica.