Psalm 14:1 A fool says in his heart there is no God
April Fools Day doesn’t quite mean the same thing to the Loughrige family that it does to many others. For us, it’s not a day for pranks, but a day of remembering, prayer and thanks.
Twenty-one years ago today we said hello and goodbye to our son Paul. Paul had a syndrome that was incompatible with life. Even though his spirit already left his body he was held, cherished, prayed for and wept over. He was cradled by aunts, uncles and grandparents. His big sister, Sara, stood silently wondering where all the prayers she prayed had gone. She and her family had prayed since the third month of pregnancy when it it was clear something was wrong and then fervent prayers took over in the fifth month when we knew exactly what was wrong. The last six months were overtaken with prayers and fasting that Paul would be healed here on earth… not in heaven. We watched Ian and Sara at the Memorial Service searching our faces for answers… what is the meaning of this? Where did all the prayers go? Where should we go? What should we believe?
Friends who were professionals in the mental health field had a very similar situation happen… depression took over and their marriage ended in divorce. Were we going to make it? Was our faith going to make it? Would we ever pray for someone to be healed again? Could we believe our prayers mattered… that they went somewhere… accomplished something?
Fast forward several years later on April 1st. We are in court for a violent crime committed against one of our family members. Today is the verdict after a month long trial. This verdict would bring some justice to several children and the verdict is “not guilty”. The perpetrator was acquitted. How can this be? What is the meaning of this? How do people who commit evil atrocities go unpunished? Where did all the prayers go? Where should we go? What should we believe?
We’ve seen how others handle unrighteous verdicts. You know the “an eye for an eye” way. They take the law into their own hands or equally as tragic, they give their lives away to unforgiveness, suffer silently and die a slow death.
On this day, April 1st, we remember, we pray and we give thanks. When we said good-bye to Paul we had no idea what we would be saying hello to. When we sat in that courtroom and watched this man go free, we could never imagine the freedom that would come to us… the faith that was being built in us. The un-countable miracle prayers that would be prayed through us. The freedom that would come to others through our family. The ways God would allow us to experience Him through joy and even…pain.
This is not a fools day for us. This is a day that marks some of the biggest tests of our faith. Would we be fools and say “there is no God” or would we press in and find the God who is present in both triumphs and tragedies. We found God in April and it was not a prank. We have experienced God on the mountaintops and God in the valleys. He has taught us love and compassion for people with the biggest questions and sadness in life. He has strengthened our faith for the impossible. Clare’s father taught us to say “what is the meaning in this” instead of “what is the meaning of this”. That truth has caused us to enjoy 28 years of marriage (on Friday!) and 22 years of pastoral ministry. Truly a life with “meaning in it.” That meaning is found in God…knowing and experiencing God.
Tonight we will all gather for a family dinner. We will remember, pray and give thanks. We will say we believe in God. We will talk of the times we have seen him forgive, heal and make the impossible- possible. We will talk about life with “meaning in it”.
Only a fool says in His heart there is no God. A fool is a fool because he won’t look for the One who longs to love him, comfort him and teach him meaning. When we don’t look for God, the joke’s on us. When we seek Him, we find Him and the joke is on the enemy of your soul.
Today we pray that you too will always find meaning… find the God of meaning.
Finding God,
Scott & Clare
…if you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut 4:29