Arthur John Gossip, a greatly beloved and respected Scottish preacher, lost his wife when they were in their middle years, and the experience left him desolate and alone. He struggled with his grief. Eventually he was able to stand in the pulpit to preach. The first sentence of that sermon was, “When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” Some have called it the greatest sermon of the 20th century because he had reached the bottom of who he was in his grief. But at the bottom, he had reached the core of all that he believed. Among the things that Gossip said in that sermon was this: “You people in the sunshine may believe the faith, but we in the shadows must believe it. We have nothing else!” (in Preaching, November/December, 1994, p. 72) What do you do when life tumbles in?
Lewis Smedes, now deceased, was a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. For those who struggle with issues of shame I know of no better book than, Shame and Grace. And for those who have a hard time forgiving someone, read his book, The Art of Forgiving. But I want to tell you a story about him that began more than 50 years ago. Early in their marriage, Lew and Doris Smedes prayed for a child. They wanted a child more than anything. For over 10 years they prayed, but to no avail. Then after a decade of disappointment, Doris got pregnant. They praised God! They never gave up on hope! But one night, six months into the pregnancy something went wrong. Lew called the doctor. The doctor told him to get Doris to the hospital immediately. She was going into labor. Then the doctor told him one more thing. “Your baby is going to be seriously malformed.” Lew said, “Malformed? How serious?” The doctor simply said, ‘Very serious. It’s up to you now to tell Doris on the way to the hospital.” Lew, the young father-to-be, told Doris of the doctor’s word and they decided that they were not going to give up hope. He said, “We kept hoping all through the night.” At 6 in the morning, the doctor came in. He was grinning an embarrassed smile form ear to hear. “Congratulations! You have a perfect baby boy. Come and see.” Lew raced in and upon seeing the child he began to yell, “Praise God! Praise God!” He wrote, “It’s true. Never give up hope. Never give up hope.”
But soon somehow something went tragically wrong. What brought them so much joy brought so much sadness. Two days later, their baby died. As Lew phrased it, “High hopes bring deep pain.” How many of you know that reality? But through the grief, Lew and Doris hung in and continued to have hope and prayed. Later they adopted two boys and a girl. Of course, with that came more roller coaster rides – the mix of blessings and celebrations, with challenges and pain – all of which comes with parenting. For Lew and Doris Smedes life tumbled in – but they didn’t (from a sermon by Dan Chun, “When the Easter Confetti Hits the Ground,” First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu, April 12, 1998)
Lew Smedes was a lifetime follower of Jesus who knew about the roller coaster of faith.
Discussion
No comments for “Coping with Tragedy”