This week has been one of those exhausting, draining weeks that leave you aching for sleep yet knowing it won’t do anything. It has been a rough week, but not just for me. I am both blessed and cursed with having deep empathy for others, but when tragedy hits, I break with them. When others hurt, I want to cry. When I can do nothing about their situation, I feel helpless. That defines this week.

On Saturday last week, my uncle was free sky-diving, however he landed full impact to the ground after his parachute failed. He was in critical condition barely surviving through the surgeries, to which doctors had no idea how bad he really was. Almost a week later, he has been recovering much quicker than expected. He should be dead. If anything, he should at least be paralyzed. He is neither. Instead he is now a cripple with a crushed leg, possible brain damage, and will most likely never do what he loved ever again. My heart breaks for him. A freak accident changed his life forever. His scars all over his body will attest to his nearly fatal accident. They also bear the testimony to the sovereignty and the grace of God. By him alone, is my uncle alive. Even knowing this, my heart remains heavy.

Then today, I had another shocker. One of my best friend’s mom passed away today. Though she was sick and the family expected her death to be near, death is never desired. It is never something we want. We want to be selfish, keeping our loved ones here, even in their pain. Yet this morning, my friend had to say goodbye to her mom, her best friend all because she didn’t beat her sickness.

We can ask why tragedy happens. We can beg God for another day with those we love. But ultimately, each of us has no idea how much time we really have. It may be an accident or a sickness, but we each have a timeline. And my heart breaks for both my uncle and my friend. At the same time, I know that I am able to get through my own personal tragedies because I have a hope in Jesus Christ. He is what gets me through all things, good and bad. I have lost loved ones, have been ill, and faced things that I cannot explain. Yet I know it is only by Jesus that I am able to persevere, to push through, to survive and overcome. Circumstance can defeat us only if we let it. Whatever you might be facing, big or small, do not think your life too insignificant for Christ. He loves you and will hold you when life happens. He will not abandon you. You may ask if there is hope and I tell you there is with confidence. There is hope…