Grieving for my friend

This weekend has been hard. My thoughts have been consumed with prayer for my sweet friend Kim, whose husband, Stacy, died suddenly on Friday in a car accident here in Louisville. They have two young children, one of whom is
Austin's age and has probably had her picture on this blog at some point (Ali- dark brown curly hair, gorgeous blue eyes). Their other is a precious little 10 month old boy named Titus.

Kim and Stacy were dear friends of ours. He and Joseph got along so well- both loved pizza, football and NASCAR. Every year, Stacy would host a superbowl party in his "man fort" (aka basement) and invite the whole church over for homemade chili. He was the kind of guy that everybody enjoyed being around. Stacy was a an architect by trade and a deacon at Auburndale Baptist Church. His expertise in all things structural will be greatly missed. I can't think of a business meeting where Stacy didn't provide some bit of helpful information about building and grounds, maintenance issues, etc.

Stacy's wife Kim is one of my sweetest and most genuine friends. She has been a great encouragment to me over the years. We have confidence that Stacy was a believer, so we rejoice that he is with his Savior. However, we grieve for Kim and the two children who he left behind.

Never has a death hit so close to home for me. The Ellisons are not much older than Joseph and me. They have children our kids' age. They were faithful church members. I can empathize with Kim in a way that I never have with the bereaved.

If you are reading this blog, please pray for Kim and her two young children. Pray for Auburndale Baptist Church as they grieve the loss of a friend and deacon and as they care for Kim. The funeral is tomorrow in Eastern Kentucky. Joseph is going to drive out there with our close friend, Adam. There is also going to be a memorial service on Wednesday night at Auburndale, which Joseph and I will both be able to attend.

As soon as I found out that Stacy had been killed, I started praying the Psalms for Kim. Just as there are no words to say to the bereaved in such a time, it is sometimes hard to know what to pray for them. The Psalms are full of appropriate words, however, and there was one verse that stuck with me. I will share it here.

Psalm 62:11-12
"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done."

Praise God that if we are followers of Jesus, we are not rewarded for our own works but for Christ's work for us on the cross! These verses were a good reminder that God is indeed strong and he is indeed loving. He is strong enough for difficult situations, and he will lovingly carry us through them.