Monday afternoon – had an email saying that Dave Edwards, a Uniting Church youth worker in Wagga Wagga, had been killed in a car accident at 7 am. Dave was going to be hosting the camp in Mittanong where I was to be the guest speaker. I’d met Dave at youth workers conferences, a couple of multimedia conferences, and at National Christian Youth Convention. A good man, laid back with an excellent sense of hospitality, humour and adventure.
The news of Dave’s death came only minutes after I posted 3 thoughts on Jesus and Lazarus: Where is Jesus when we’re hurting, Freedom from Addiction and A Personal Note on Grief, in which I included a photo of the grave stone of Kristen, our daughter who died when she was hit by a car at the age of 18 months in 1992.
Tuesday 6 am – met Cliff next door as we both took out the rubbish bins. Told me that his daughter had finally been born in the weekend!
I’m not too sure about the phrase, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away”. Read my posts and you’ll see why. But I do believe that we’re created as fragile beings – able to enjoy a fascinating world, but also prone to the damage done by disease, ageing and accident. I don’t think it’s the result of any ‘fall’ though.
I read a note to Journey during the week that expressed horror that someone could challenge the idea of a pre-fall perfect world without suffering. How could God create a world in which suffering was a natural part of the plan? Well… imagine a world without any sense of pain or loss. It would be a world without change. It would be a world without adventure. It would be sterile.