In 2017, Christmas Eve, my in-laws came to us, my wife and I and our son, all the way from Cape Town. They drove through the night into Christmas Day. My wife’s parents never made it to our home. They were in a head on collision approximately 15-20Km outside of Grahamstown. So close, yet they never made it to us. My mother in-law died on the scene and my father in-law died two days later at Livingston Hospital in PE. We were of course devastated and broken into pieces but God was with us all the way giving us strength and especially His peace, “…which surpasses every thought …that guards our…hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)”. The peace that enabled Horatio Spafford, to write his famous hymn, after losing his four daughters, also in a head on collision as the Ville De Havre strayed into the path of a British ship, “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea-billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul”. Are we still healing? Yes, we definitely are. Are we hopeless? No we aren’t! My wife’s parents knew the Lord. An encouragement to those who lost loved ones through tragedies or any other way; trust God with your pain. Do not allow the pain to make you bitter, but allow God to make you stronger through it all. Find rest in His all-knowingness. God’s ways are higher than ours and His thoughts than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Find comfort in the God of Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God…”
Pastor Euginio Nel
The Bowker Street Baptist Church
