A Moment Of Silence

There are so many people, who hang in the background of your life, who you take for granted or soemtimes pointedly avoid. But when something happens to them or someone close to them, they seem to stand out from the background, screaming out to you.

What are you supposed to tell a fifteen year old boy, whose father was killed in a hit-and-run car accident? How do you face him when he's sitting in the church pew with tears streaming down his face, staring at the gigantic crucifix as if pleading for answers? Even prayer, will it really help?

I prayed for him and his father's soul, for his siblings and his mother. But I did not know what to ask God for. I asked the Lord to give him strength to get through this difficult time in his life - so cliche, I know. And as I said those words, I wondered, how much strength will this boy need to understand the immensity of what happened? Is there enough strength in the world that will completely heal him from this tragic event in his life? I asked the Lord to make this easy on him, but will it really be any easier? How can it be easy for him to go home every single day, and know that there is one whole person less in his home?

Yet I continue to pray, for God works in mysterious ways, making the incomprehensible bearable.
And I hope he will be able to bear this incomprehensible loss.