Faithfully yours - Another defining moment

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Published on Sunday, April 22, 2018

By Neil Strohschein

Neepawa Banner & Press

Adjusting to the sudden death of a loved one or close friend is never easy. I know. I have been in that situation often enough to realize just how quickly and easily a life can be lost. All it takes is one unfortunate event and a life can be instantly snuffed out. A grieving family and community are left to ask “Why? Why did this person have to die; why this way; and why now?”

I have been asked these questions many times in the last 40 years. I have never found a satisfactory answer to them, and I don’t expect to. God alone has the answers. He may (or may not) share them with us at a later date—and I am quite content to leave things that way.

What I am noticing is how these events are changing the way I look at life. This has come into sharper focus since the recent death of a close family friend. I am still not over the shock and disbelief I felt when I learned of her death. I probably will never fully get over it. Her death has left a huge hole in the lives of all who knew her—a hole that won’t heal any time soon.

Whenever I think of my friend and many others I know who have died in similar circumstances, two thoughts go through my mind. First: had circumstances been different, I could have been the victim—not my friend. Second: I am at the age where one day, it could well be me. There are no guarantees in this life. We live in the land of the dying and one day, death will claim us all.

That being said, there are things that used to matter to me that no longer do.

For example, I no longer wonder if my kids will learn enough from my mistakes to avoid making the same mistakes themselves. I know they won’t. They will make their own mistakes, but I trust them enough to know that they will learn from them and will not repeat them.

I no longer have the desire, the time or the energy for theological or religious debates.

My beliefs can be summarized in the words of two classic hymns: “Jesus loves me, this I know;” and “Amazing Grace.” Beyond that, nothing else really matters.

My Christian family includes members from all Christian faith traditions. Our litanies may differ but we share one thing in common—we are “children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” God doesn’t have different brands of children—just children whom he loves, who love him in return, who believe in his Son and who seek, as directed by His Spirit, to follow his Son’s teachings and obey his commands. They have my prayers, my encouragement, my support and my love.

I no longer worry about how many hours of work I’ll get each week or how many times a month I may be asked to lead a Sunday service somewhere. God has promised to supply my needs. He has done that for the last 66 years. I know he will continue to do so.

I no longer live so many days, weeks or years in advance anymore. My wife has taught me the importance of living one day at a time, and that is how I am choosing to live out my time here on this earth; while using every means at my disposal to tell people about the love of God and the redeeming power of his amazing grace.