A Hard Day
Today was a hard day…how many times have we all said the same? We laid to rest a soldier way too soon due to a tragic accident. As I stood at his funeral and looked around the church, I couldn’t help but wonder how many lives will forever be connected due to this loss? I thought back to today’s verse from 1 Peter 1:7, “These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it-and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.” Is this God testing us?
Not long ago, one of my twins asked me how God can exist, how can He allow the tragic things that happen? How can a young innocent child of four be told she has a terminal illness? How can a father be taken away from his young children? How can there be so much loss in the recent floods in Texas? How can God allow such suffering in this world? She asked me how and why I believe so strongly. I remembered having the same questions when I was around her age, I wrote the below poem: when my sister was in an ATV accident (thankfully survived):
God’s story
I don’t seem to understand
Why God chooses to punish us so
If I’ve done something wrong
Why hurt the ones around me
I’ve lost some friends, learned a few lessons
But were their deaths worth it
When I saw her hurt
I felt all our ties begin to stretch
The fear of losing her
Was very strong
Maybe God has all this planned
Without that event much would never be
I’ll never understand
Nor do I wish to
For with that knowledge
Death will surely come
I trust and believe in God
Always have
There are some times
I didn’t like His ways
But God is God
And His story is our life
He chooses the way
The best way for us
Without Him
There never would be us
I had the same doubts, I had the same questions. I am sure many of us have throughout our lives. I shared with her the simple truth that I know today and that I knew when I wrote this. I am not all knowing and all seeing, only God knows the story he writes. Why do I believe in God? It’s not because I expect goodness on this earth and nothing but joy, it’s because I know when those hard days come, I can pray, I can turn it over to God, I can find a peace that is hard to explain. That comfort, that peace I feel is from God alone. We are not promised paradise this side of heaven, but we are promised heaven if we believe in God and the salvation of Jesus Christ. Today was a hard day, but it’s not the last day. I know that my soldier and I will meet again the other side of heaven. Rest in peace brother.
One response to “A Hard Day”
Laura Rumple
Jul 7, 2025 at 9:23 pm
This is so inspiring. Thank you for sharing Cristina!
