Trials of our Faith

I received a recent prayer request that caught my attention in a very subtle way. It is of a wife and mother whose husband passed away from cancer two years ago. They had two sons, the oldest of which committed suicide a a year later. And the remaining son did the same this year. The wife/mother is in what I would call, a horrific 'Job Experience'. Just like Job, we struggle through the whys of our trials, we wish we could and should have made different choices, and in the journey of our lives, we finally come to ourselves and see that our Lord is forever with us, never leaving or forsaking us.
I came to realize that she has no husband that can put his arms around her while she cries endlessly into the night. She looks at pictures of her husband and their two sons, and faces the reality that they are now absent from the earth. They are absent from her. Her life right now seems meaningless to her. But is it?
She is surrounded by their pictures. She goes into their rooms and touches and smells their clothes. She goes touches their books, dvds, football and basketball trophies, report cards and drawings. She closes her eyes and in a moment they are again alive and real to her, and then in a moment, they are gone. She looks at the wedding dress she wore the day she was wed to her husband, the memories of that day spill over into her tears. She thinks back to the days her sons were born, and the joy and excitement of being new parents.
We can ask God why. Why do such tragic events occur in our life? He is, I am sure, quite use to the angry words of hurt and despair coming from His creation. Yet, we are reminded, in Job 38 of His Sovereignty. He is Merciful, Compassionate, Caring, Just, Righteous, Loving, Fatherly, a Friend, and He died in our place for our sins, our transgressions, so that we may live forever and forgiven, new Creatures in Christ.
In summary, this is a temporary place. We are on a journey in this place. Our eyes must lot lose focus on things in heaven above. We have an Eternal Home, made by the Master's Hands. No hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, or any storms can destroy it. For the One who has prepared our Eternal Home, is in control of the storms of life, allowing them to come into our lives, to draw us closer in our walk with Him, to keep us ever so much nearer to Him. Our spirit lives forever, and being saved, lives forever with our Lord; never to see the depths of hell, never having to cry again, never having to die again, never having to lose loved ones again, never having to bare emotional or physical or spiritual pain ever again.
I would tell this wife/mother to hold onto Hope in her heart; that someday soon, all will be well. The memory of all pain and sorrow will finally be wiped away, never to be remembered anymore, and she at least, one day, will be in her Eternal Home, made by the Master's Hands.
Romans 8:18; For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with glory that shall be revealed in us.
Hope is Alive. Hope Exists. Hope is Real. Hope is our Gift from our Heavenly Father. We have a Blessed Hope.