Saying Goodbye to Ben

How heartwrenchingly touching was the memorial service for Ben Towne today. University Presbyterian Church was packed, overflowing with those who've been touched by his story (mostly through the honest expressions of hope and pain by his mom - Carin.) The music was moving; the message by Pastor David Rohr was personal, encouraging and had room for both hope and pain. The tributes given by his aunt, uncle and then by his mom made us all weep. It was amazing and I'm so glad that the little boy who lived with such fierce determination and touched so many lives was honored in this way. The part that gave me the most hope was the benediction by Dave Rohr - several Scriptures spoken together from memory. Love messages from God to a crowded sanctuary of people who really needed to hear them. Glorious.



As I left the church and made my way home I couldn't help but think how sad it is for parents to lose their children. It's not the natural order of things and yet it happens all the time. Then I started thinking of all the parents around the world who are losing their children to war, famine, dirty water, and preventable diseases such as malaria. I also thought of the children who've lost their parents to AIDS, genocide and war. And what about the children who have to be sold into slavery in order to provide food for the rest of the family? Who weeps for these children? I used to be able to turn away from all this injustice by saying I have enough to deal with in raising my own children and serving in THE CHURCH. I can't do that anymore. The deaths of Palestinian children in UN schools are a tragedy. They don't deserve being used as pawns in the battles for power anymore than my children do. The images of parents wailing over their little bloody bodies tear at my heart. I want it to tear at my heart. I want it to tear at yours. The senseless deaths of children are a travesty to love - no matter where they are in the world. No matter who they worship or what culture they were born into. God is on the side of the poor, the widow, the orphan, the prisoner - the powerless. And that includes the grieving. And He's with us as we come alongside those in need. Their faces are His face, asking us to care, to reach out, to make a difference. Just as thousands have reached out to the Towne family, to help carry their pain, we need thousands upon thousands to reach out to the poverty stricken, the war-torn, the disease carrying. That's the call of Love, the call that heals us.